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 Layne’s Outlets with existing Halal Guys locations. The existing locations are Cinco Ranch and the “Ella Fast Food Boulevard.” Layne’s has yet to make an …
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Retail News: Trill Burgers work shows on former James Coney Island
The former James Coney Island, located at 3607 S Sheperd Dr. Houston, TX 77098, has been slated to reopen as local rapper Bun B’s Smash Burger concept Trill Burger since closing last year. Work started on the interior earlier this year, as reported here on HHR. However, this last week the first stages of exterior change began. A new black and gold paint job, in addition to updated signage, has all been applied. Photos from inside the building show that structurally much remains the same. However, red, white, and blue have similarly been swapped for black and gold throughout. Booths …
Keep readingFuddrucker’s Houston outlook is mostly grim
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re trying to figure out What the Fudds is going on at Houston’s remaining Fuddruckers. Things began first publically to unravel for Fuddruckers towards the end of 2017 when parent company Luby’s Inc posted one of many continuous losses in sales. To help abate this, Luby’s Inc. would begin closing locations nationwide. Throughout 2017 and 2018, a number of low-performing Luby’s and Fuddruckers locations would close, including some in Houston. However, this action would not end up being enough, and in 2019 Luby’s began to “refranchise” nearly all of the …
Keep readingDemolition Watch: McDonald’s on Main Street, could we be getting an automated location?
Howdy, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail! Today we’re covering a topic that has had social media in a frenzy. The infamous Main Street McDonald’s is coming down. If you’ve never humbled yourself with a visit to the lowliest burger joint this side of the Pecos, well, you may be out of luck! For those unaware, the McDonald’s at 2017 Main Street has quite a reputation. Situated just between the Greyhound Bus Station and the Pierce Elevated section of I-45, this McDonald’s has seen it all. From robberies to homicides, from poor service to “traveling salesmen,” this store has …
Keep readingRetail 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. In 2020 for unknown reasons, corporate took over operations of the remaining Texas franchisee. Earlier this year, four locations, 2 in Dallas and 2 in …
Keep readingThis 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 locations by 1985. However, around this time, bigger chains like the now-vanishing Casa Ole were taking the area by storm. El Papo would declare bankruptcy …
Keep readingShoney’s Houston Experiments from Church’s Chicken to Cheap Pizza
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re taking a trip down a rabbit hole that starts back in the late 80s. We’ll talk about how Shoney’s presence in Texas has evolved over the years and what the future holds for a company that no longer operates any of its namesake restaurants within our state. To start, here’s a bit of history on Shoney’s. The company was started by the West Virginia franchisee of the Big Boy brand, Alex Schoenbaum. Originally named the Parkette Drive-In, the stores were renamed Shoney’s Big Boy after aligning with Big Boy. …
Keep readingRetail News: The Coney Cruiser prepares to bring JCI back inside The Loop this Wednesday!
Good news for James Coney Island Fans! Houston’s oldest purveyors of hot dogs will be back inside the loop for at least a few hours this week. The location Coney Cruiser Food Truck will be parked outside of the former James Coney Island location at S. Shepherd and Richmond Ave on Wednesday, November 16th. The food truck will be open for lunch from 11:00 AM-2:00 PM. The truck will serve a pared-down version of the original restaurant’s menu.
Keep readingRetail News: James Coney Island continues to shrink as Westheimer location closes
James Coney Island closed another location earlier this month, this time, it was their Galleria outpost at 5745 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77057. This leaves Houston’s oldest restaurant chain with a paltry 10 locations. The chain had about 20 locations as of 2020. So far, most locations that have closed have been redeveloped. The Westheimer location is no exception, with permits filed by Artisan’s Restaurant to demolish the building. The structure is actually original to Steak ‘n Shake, which operated from 1976-1978 before selling most of its locations to Grandy’s. JCI would move in here in 1983 and become a …
Keep readingLayne’s in Cinco Ranch gets a new neighbor, Halal Guys!
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today, we’re back in the Cinco Ranch area, visiting the former PDQ once again. For those who don’t remember, PDQ was a purveyor of all things Chicken. The company, which expanded out of Florida, was similar to Chick-Fil-A but a bit more ‘homemade.’ The large multitude of sauces were all prepared on-site and delivered in hand-sealed plastic containers, the chicken was very lightly breaded, and you could also get Cheerwine. Houston received our locations, a combo of franchised and corporate-owned stores, in 2015. The expansion into Texas consisted of six stores, …
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