Cafeterias are a Southern specialty. Born out of the efficiency of self-serve prepared food, by utilizing a limited service concept, they were staples of the 20th Century. The cafeteria allowed families to quickly and cheaply feed an entire family. This was one of the major selling point early on, cafeterias were cheap. The quality of the food was below an average dine-in restaurant of the time, but still far above even the earliest incarnations of …
Read morePermit Roundup: P.F. Chang’s on the move from Highland Village
P.F. Changs on the move from Highland Village, and other new restaurants In 1996 P.F. Chang’s was a four restaurant chain, with 3 restaurants in Southern California, and one in Scottsdale, AZ. The same year executives, including some former Brinker folks, set their eyes on Houston for their first restaurant in Texas, and while I can’t confirm it, I believe this may have been the 5th location ever. The restaurant was built into new space …
Read moreThis Week in Demolition: A Colonial Plantation on Del Monte Drive, and Hollywood! Food store that is
If you’ve ever driven through River Oaks, you’ve probably seen today’s featured house. A literal mansion in the heart of River Oaks, 3217 Del Monte. This is a list of the buildings which received a City of Houston demolition permit the week before this post.
Read moreStripes begin to fade as the 7-Eleven conversions push on
Howdy folks, let’s get started today by a simple recap of how 7-Eleven entered Houston (the second time). After exiting in the 1980s & 1990s, Houston was notably absent of most chain gas stations, including 7-Eleven and Circle K. Throughout the next 25 years this would be the norm, until 7-Eleven began exploring our town around 2012, with their purchase of Tetco and Speedy Stop locations, around the metropolitan area but not within city limits. …
Read moreEye on “The Ion” an inside look at the former Midtown Sears
Editor’s Note: Today’s post comes to us from friend of the blog, and frequent commenter, billytheskink. While he self describes as a lizard, I find his writing to be vibrant as a Macaw. As a reader of a blog about historic Houston retail, you no doubt know that Rice University’s planned renovation of the former Midtown Sears at 4201 Main St. into a hub for innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship has been well underway. The centerpiece …
Read morePermit Roundup: Visitors abound: Mr. Potato drops in from New Orleans, and Happy Lemon from China!
Newcomers enter into Houston Howdy, folks, and welcome back to our regularly scheduled Permit Roundup! This week seems to have been relatively quiet as far as new filings go. However, we do have a few standouts, so let’s start with those. Two “out of town” restaurants have filed permits to build locations in Houston. One of these is Mr. Potato. The restaurant concept was born over in New Orleans originally as a food truck, opening …
Read moreThis Week in Demolition: A mansion valued at over $4 Million!
This is a list of the buildings which received a City of Houston demolition permit the week before this post.
Read moreThere’s a dead mall in Stafford you probably didn’t know about
Howdy folks and welcome back, we seem to be getting to a great diehard core of readers here, and I’m really happy about that! I want to take a moment to thank the folks who keep coming back to read and share my content. Please keep reading, sharing, and commenting, that’s what keeps me going! Moving on to today’s topic, I’ll warn you up front, this is NO HIDDEN GEM, this is not a mall …
Read morePermit Roundup: Otto’s on Durham won’t be an Otto’s, Exclusive Furniture to replace Former West Oaks Barnes & Nobles, and other retail goings on!
Otto’s on Durham, isn’t going to be an Otto’s At 903 Durham, a permit has been filed for a build out of a new restaurant, which was first envisioned back in 2018. When originally pitched, the new combined lot, was meant to serve as a combination catering kitchen, and BBQ restaurant. The venture was undertaken by the current owners of the Otto’s locations remaining in Houston, and the restaurant was pitched with the Otto’s name …
Read moreThis decor still provides service “Merchandise”, at American Freight
Let’s start off today with a little history of 2665 S Texas 6, Houston, TX 77082. If you’re too young to remember, Service Merchandise was one of the final catalog showroom chains in the U.S., and one of the last to operate in Houston. Their entry into Houston came via acquiring another company named, Wilson’s. Most locations were built next to Office Depot stores, although I’m not sure which chain to trace this to. Service …
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