Demolition 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 …

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Here is a more distant view of the store. As one can see here, this store does do a fair amount of business. One can also tell from here that the parking lot is not in the best condition these days.

A Warm Greenhouse Welcome to the Year of Kroger here at HHR!

Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest submission from HHR’s good friend Anonymous in Houston with the photos taken by Mike Happy New Year and welcome to 2023, Houston Historic Retail readers! We have many interesting things planned for this year. One of our goals for the year is to cover some of the most interesting Kroger stores in the Houston area. With that in mind, we plan on posting one Kroger post a month …

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Retail News: Foodarama adds new location with Texas City Food King on their roster

Local grocery chain Foodarama opened a new location last week at 915 North 6th St in Texas City. The store was purchased directly from the previous operator Food King and was not closed for the changeover. This newest Foodarama represents the first new location of an independent Houston grocery chain since 2015, when Pyburn’s opened its third location. As of this article, Foodarama has eight locations throughout the Houston area. Other independent grocery chains in …

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HHR a Year in Review

Howdy folks, and for the last time in 2022, welcome back to Houston Historic Retail! It’s been a heck of a year, 144 blog posts, 6 new blog pages, and in my personal life, a Master’s Degree completed! That being said, before we review some of my favorite things from this past year, let me ask that if you feel like you got any value out of Houston Historic Retail, please consider making a donation. …

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Foodarama’s Weingarten redemption at Maplewood Mall

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 …

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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 …

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This is the Katy location

Here 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 …

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The choice of this as the cover image is for your Jason!

Retail 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. …

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The 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 …

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