Category: Random Retail

North Carolina’s homegrown chicken chain is finally spreading its wings in Houston. After nearly two years of empty promises to return, Bojangles seems to be making good. A location in Spring is finally finishing its buildout and is listed as “coming soon” on the Bojangles website. A second location in Richmond is also coming along nicely and has a grand opening date on December 17th. While this date is not yet set in stone, at …

Howdy folks, and welcome back to HHR. Today, we’re driving out to Austin to experience something I’ve been trying to get photos of for quite a while now: a tiny HEB. First, let me start by stating the obvious: this store is not in Houston; it’s in Austin, specifically at 2301 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704. So why is this being covered on HHR? Well, it’s still historic, it’s still retail, and most importantly …

Just over a year ago, Lowe’s Outlet announced plans to come to Houston. The store, like other large chain outlets, offers scratch and dent, return, and overstock items at deep discounts compared to their parent retailer. This location is the second Lowe’s Outlet in Texas to be beaten out by a location in Irving, which opened in 2021. Unlike the Iriving store, which  takes up a small portion of a former full-line store that closed …

In a strange turn of fate, a single Houston Big Lots location has ended its liquidation sale and will remain open. According to employees at the store, the Big Lots at 9795 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77042, ended its liquidation sale over the weekend after corporate informed the store it was no longer closing. The move is part of a broader measure that keeps multiple closing stores open across 11 states. Customers were informed that …

Howdy, folks, and welcome back to HHR. Today, we’re tackling one of my favorite topics, Harvest Market. Unless you’re in a few key markets in Houston, you’ve likely never heard of Harvest Market, and in my opinion, that’s a shame. I first visited a couple of their locations at the end of 2022 and have been itching to return. The homegrown concept, sometimes called a “grocerant,” opened its first location in the summer of 2015; …

In a long, strange tale, one of the largest surviving pieces of Sears’ former operations will finally be exiting Houston, albeit under a different name, American Freight. The story begins with Sears Outlet, which arrived in Houston in 1975 and was initially named “Sears Surplus.” These stores were exactly as the name portrays an Outlet branch of the successful Sears chain. The stores leaned more heavily into the “catalog side” of things than the variety …

Howdy folks, and welcome back to HHR. Today, we’re taking a look at a farce, a fraud, a mediocre photographic fakery, if you will. So what are we looking at? A “grand re-opening” of the Kroger at 1035 N Shepherd Dr, Houston, TX 77008. To start, this has always been a significant store for Kroger. Starting with a bit of history, this store initially opened as a Henke & Pillot location all the way back …

Construction permits filed with the state at the end of last week indicate that Houston-based Trill Burger may be expanding into more suburban digs. Co-founded by local rapper Bun B and restauranter Andy Nguyen, Trill Bruger initially debuted as a pop-up selling smash burgers in the summer of 2021. In the summer of 2023, the concept transitioned to a more permanent home in a former James Coney Island. However, from day one of operation there, …

TGI Fridays quietly closed its remaining two Houston locations last week without any fanfare. The closures were not unexpected, and HHR postulated that they would eventually occur at the start of this year when TGI Fridays cut its operations from four stores to only two in Houston. The chain, which first entered Houston in 1973, at one point held the majority of the “fern bar” segment, but a lack of updates over the years left …

Happy Halloween, ghouls and goblins! Today, we’re making a return to the longest-standing tradition at HHR. Visiting some “costume conversions.” These are empty storefronts temporarily leased by seasonal stores and “dressed up” for Halloween. In the past, we’ve visited Spirit locations, Halloween City (part of Party City), and even a local retailer, Spookers. This year, however, we only have the big dog Spirit operating in Houston. Without further to do, let us start with… The …