Lowe’s Outlet 1-year Houston anniversary

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 …

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Retail News: Houston Big Lots location saved from liquidation

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 …

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A first and last look at Harvest Market Katy

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; …

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Retail News: Sears Outlet successor, American Freight to be liquidated

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 …

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Kroger’s not so Grand Re-Opening in the Heights

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 …

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Retail News: Trill Burger heads for the suburbs

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, …

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Retail News: TGI Fridays quietly exits Houston after over 50 years

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 …

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Costume Conversions for Halloween 2024

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 …

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The Deerbrook store that Fiesta and Randalls couldn’t handle

Howdy, folks, and welcome back to HHR. Today, we’re looking at 9805 Farm to Market 1960 Bypass Rd W, Humble, TX 77338, a location with a storied history. To start with a bit of context, this store sits inside the Deerbrook development, which is a part of Humble, TX. While Humble had an early history as an oil boomtown, also being the namesake for Humble Oil, now known as Exxon, its status as a growth …

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Retail News: Trader Joe’s to open in Sugar Land on Thursday

For the past few months, many have waited with bated breath for Sugar Land to finally have its own Trader Joe’s, and come Thursday, October 24th, it will be a reality. The Aldi-owned natural foods store has been planning the location at Univeristy Blvd and Highway 59, in a former Sprouts, for the better part of a year, and after pushing back the date, the store seems ready to open. Trader Joe’s began applying for …

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