Houston Historic Retail

According to court documents filed by Big Lots over the past few days, four Houston area Big Lots locations will likely close before the end of the year. The four locations are 8210 Kirby at OST, 10951 FM 1960 at Jones, and one each in Baytown and Galveston. The closures come only months after other locations in North Houston quietly closed in early 2024, signaling the troubles Big Lots has been experiencing. Big Lots has …

Houston’s newest DG Market opened earlier this week. Located at 1838 S Kirkwood at Briar Forest, this new location takes the place of a shuttered Walgreens store. DG Market first broke into Houston late last year by converting existing Dollar Generals in North Houston and La Marque. This was bolstered by another location South of Houston, in a former CVS in Leauge City, which opened a few months ago. This newest store is the most …

The soon-to-open Sugar Land Trader Joe’s may be coming sooner than previously thought. Original estimates had put the opening closer to Christmas, but rumors online now put the grand opening about a month out, specifically on October 15th. While HHR was unable to get direct confirmation from Trader Joe’s, a few employees of locations other than the one mentioned above said that the mid-October assumption was likely correct. TJ’s has made a large amount of …

Pasadena Town Square, Marcoplaza, or Plaza Paseo are three names that all say the same thing: a dead mall. However, unlike every other dead mall in Houston, this one seems to have outlived expectations anyone has had for it. When I first visited the mall, it was during the Marcoplaza days, and the entire building was still open. My return to the mall would not occur until after the pandemic began. Dwindling mall traffic called …

The first of six former 99 Cents Only stores planned to become Ollie’s Bargain Outlet locations has opened in Rosenberg. The store, located at 2516 Avenue H, Rosenberg, TX 77471, is one of 11 purchased by the Pennsylvania-based outlet chain. Ollie’s had their eyes on Texas ever since the downfall of Toys ‘R Us when they were rumored to be eyeing many leases throughout the Lone Star state. Ultimately, Ollie’s took a slower approach, opting …

New York-based Shake Shack recently announced they will close two Houston locations by the end of September. The locations are the original Galleria location, which opened in 2016, and the Montrose location, which opened in 2018, replacing a long-standing Burger King location. According to reports online, Shake Shack indicated the stores were cannibalizing sales from other locations and were underperforming overall. The Montrose location no doubt has the most competition from other Shake Shack outlets, …

Work has started to at least partially demolish the former Fry’s on West Road and I-45 in preparation for Joe V’s occupying the space. HEB filed permits earlier this year indicating that a Joe V’s was headed for this site, and signs posted within the past couple of weeks confirm the new tenant will indeed be taking over the land. HEB has not announced if they plan to build an entirely new structure, but this …

Conn’s Home Plus, which recently announced its plans to liquidate its entire chain, is currently holding out-of-business sales throughout Houston. I wanted to stop by a Conn’s, as I hadn’t been into one in years, and see what I was missing. I decided to visit the 9567 S Main St, Houston, TX 77025 location as I was already in the area, and honestly, I was not super surprised by what I saw. The last time …

Last week, Mexico-based Oxxo announced its plans to enter the U.S. convenience store market by purchasing DK Gas Stations. The DK brand is most prominent in Texas, mainly in West and Northern Texas. DK is an interesting story, as it is a relatively new company. However, it will come to a quick end when Oxxo converts its stores. Owned by refiner Delek, these DK stores were, until recently, 7-Eleven’s franchisor throughout rural parts of Texas. …