Everywhere you look in Houston, there are empty buildings. Even in a crunch for real estate as a city, we’re constantly cycling tenants, primarily commercial tenants in less prosperous areas. If you’ve done any driving around the surface streets of our fair city lately, then you’ve likely noticed at least a few vacant fast-food restaurants. Chances are they’ve all been or at least mostly have been Church’s Chicken locations. The downfall of Church’s Chicken all …
Read moreCategory: Random Retail
Anything related to retail that doesn’t fit anywhere else.
Talking about Homeland, AppleTree’s cousin from Oklahoma
Editor’s Note: This post was inspired by a request for information on the history of AppleTree’s “cousin” from Oklahoma, Homeland. The requester, Sing Oil Blog, has provided a companion post reporting on a Homeland-owned store in Georgia. Howdy, folks, and welcome back to HHR. Today we’re looking at the history of a much more successful cousin of AppleTree, Homeland. Their history begins way back in 1929 when Safeway entered Oklahoma by acquiring a Tulsa-based chain, …
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Here Everything Was Remarkable: Remembering The Jones & West Randall’s
Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest submission from HHR’s good friend Anonymous in Houston with the photos taken by Mike Richardson I must say that it has been a while since I’ve had a guest post here at Houston Historic Retail which has not been about a Kroger store! That said, today’s post is related to March’s The Year of Kroger post about the Kroger Signature store at the corner Jones Rd. and West …
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Retail News: What’s in the plans for West Oaks after nearly 40 years?
Update: West Oaks Mall Management contacted HHR with the following statement: Anchors, including Dillards, The Outlet, Fortis College, and Crazy Boss, remain open. In addition, there are inline retailers and restaurants that remain open. These stores have active leases and customers, and access to these stores and restaurants is not restricted. Any questions regarding this mall should be directed to [email protected] Earlier this week, West Oaks Mall shut down interior access to their few remaining …
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Houston’s own Joe V’s prepares to head to Dallas
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail! Today we’re talking about Joe V’s Smart Shop, a Houston-developed discount grocery store headed for DFW. The first Joe V locations opened in the summer of 2010. HEB pitched the stores as Aldi-Fighters, just as the discount German grocer gained a foothold in the Houston market. Despite this comparison, the first stores were reminiscent of the old HEB Pantry Foods concept. You could still find the …
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Welcome to Shoppers World Houston’s newest “department store”
Howdy, folks, and welcome back to HHR. Today we’re heading to Shoppers World for the first time! For those not in the know, this will likely include some new readers since the now viral Shipley post (thank y’all for that, by the way!). Shoppers World is Houston’s newest “department store,” and I use that term loosely, as you’ll see in the photos today. Shoppers World originates out of New York and has a difficult-to-follow history. …
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Over 50 Years Later, Baytown’s Kroger Family Center Is Still One Of The Houston Area’s Most Unique Kroger Stores
Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest submission from HHR’s good friend Anonymous in Houston with the photos taken by Mike In April’s The Year of Kroger post here at Houston Historic Retail, we took a look at the Texas City Kroger, the second oldest still-operating Kroger building in the Houston area. If you think that store is unique, we have a special treat for you today. As promised in February’s The Year of Kroger …
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Visiting the 99 Cent Only Store all these years later
Howdy folks, and welcome to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re visiting a new place for the blog, but a spot with a special place in my heart, the 99 Cents Only Store. Today’s location is actually a new one for me. Located at 10787 Jones Rd, Houston, TX 77065, this store space in the Steeplechase Center was originally filled by Sav-On Drugs, opening in 1982, and later Walgreens, which took over the stores when Sav-On …
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Food Town vs. Albertsons: a Pearland grocery decor showdown
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Hisotirc Retail. Today we’re looking at an independent conversion of a former major-owned grocery store. A concept that is not unfamiliar to any longtime HHR reader. Houston still has a decent number of independents in operation. Mostly split up between Food Town, Foodarama, and El Ahorro/La Michoacana/Sellers Bros, each chain taking a unique approach to decor. Foodarama has mastered a very standardized look of replacing department signage with …
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Retail News: River Oaks Ex-KFC to house another fried chicken joint
According to permits filed recently, Layne’s Chicken Fingers appears to be headed to River Oaks. The new restaurant will rehab a former KFC located at 2359 S Shepherd Dr, Houston, TX 77019. The KFC, which closed in 2016, long enough ago that Swamplot covered it, has sat continuously vacant for nearly seven years. College Station-based Layne’s Chicken Fingers (LFC) is being franchised locally by the Houston franchisee of Halal Guys and has collocated their two …
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