Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail! Today we’re taking a look at 5665 Beechnut St, Houston, TX 77096. A Foodarama store with a somewhat unique history. The store initially opened on January 28, 1965, as Weingarten’s Store #66. Construction of this store had started early the year prior alongside the adjacent Maplewood Shopping Center. The center was located right next to the boundaries of the greater Meyerland area, a part of Houston …
Read moreCategory: Random Retail
Anything related to retail that doesn’t fit anywhere else.
Christmas Memories Unlocked, Toys R Us in 2022
Howdy folks, and Merry Christmas! Today we’re taking a quick peek at a Toys ‘R Us “flagship” location inside of a Macy’s. While not a true TRU location, it’s as close as we’re going to get for now. So let’s take some time to reflect on Toy Stores over the years. So first off, let us start with the ultimate question, where do toy stores come from in the first place? Well, like many other …
Read moreHere comes GFS Houston’s newest Supermarket Chain
Howdy, folks, and welcome back to HHR. Today we’re taking a preliminary look at Houston’s newest supermarket chain, GFS. The stores were established in the late 70s by Gordon Food Service, a wholesaler looking to move into the consumer space. The chain was initially quite spartan but has grown to compete with modern grocers.GFS stores are known for prominently featuring their house-branded products for good prices. They also feature wholesale and retail size packs without …
Read moreRetail News: Krispy Kreme Closes Katy Location
In our second doughnut-related news piece in a row, Krispy Kreme closed their Katy location sometime last week. The store, which was at 1815 Mason Rd, Katy, TX 77450, is part of a larger retreat of the company from Houston. The chain returned to Houston in 2015 after a rogue franchisee lost their license in the early 2000s. The comeback has been marred with issues from unfinished stores to running the locations through multiple operators. …
Read moreThe Journey from Fed-Mart to Fiesta!
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail! Today we’re looking at a Fiesta on Houston’s Southeast side with an interesting history. The building this grocery store occupies at 5600 Mykawa Rd, Houston, TX 77033, has an interesting history. The building was constructed in 1958 for the Fed-Mart company. For those not in the know, Fed-Mart was a chain of sores based out of California. In modern times the stores are often compared to …
Read moreRetail News: Tim Hortons opens second Houston location this Friday
Tim Horton’s plans to open its newest Houston location at 5312 W Richey Rd Houston, TX 77066. This location is the second in Texas to open after the Katy store opened about four months ago. The Canadian Coffee and Dougnut Shop has so far been well received, although those familiar with the chain have noted that the Houston stores are somewhat lacking compared to their Canuck counterparts. Most complaints revolve around our limited menu or …
Read moreVintage Ads: Celebrating the 1971 Grand Opening of Braeswood Square
Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest submission from HHR’s good friend Anonymous in Houston This edition of Vintage Ads will take us back to the grand opening of the Braeswood Square shopping center near Bellaire in Southwest Houston. Braeswood Square’s grand opening was on July 8, 1971 and we’ll be looking at various ads from the July 7, 1971 edition of The Bellaire Texan newspaper which is freely available to read at The Portal …
Read moreHarvest Market a grocery chain in Houston you probably haven’t heard of
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. This week, we’re looking at what could rightfully be considered Houston’s newest Supermarket Chain. Harvest Market stores feature everything you’d find in a standard Supermarket, Perishables, Pantry Foods, Service Departments, and even a pharmacy at some stores. However, they’d prefer it if you called them a “Grocerant” instead. No, a Grocer-rant isn’t a long-winded complaint about customers. Instead, it’s a grocery store that also serves as …
Read moreRetail News: Home Goods come to HEB in Houston
HEB’s new Home by H-E-B lines have started to roll out at Houston stores. Back over 30 years ago, when HEB decided to try and brave the Houston grocery market, the company knew it had to differentiate itself to survive in this overcrowded market. Now, in 2022 the company is again breaking new ground with a selection of Home Goods in their grocery stores. HEB’s first Houston stores were under the guise of their Pantry …
Read moreThis failed Hartz’s Concept Restaurant has worn many hats
Howdy, folks, and welcome back to HHR! Today we’re doing a deep dive into a restaurant space on the Westside that can’t seem to keep a tenant. The space started out as the second location of El Papo, a small chain along the Northwest side of Houston. While far from being the first Tex-Mex chain in Houston, El Papo was pretty early on the Northwestside first opening in 1977 and making it up to three …
Read more
Recent Comments