Badges, Buttons, Name tags, and Pins all have a limited usefulness. Some like the Incredible Universe McDonald’s badge were lucky to survive the length of the store. Click on each photo to read a bit more about what it was, and where it came from.
This Boy Scout patch was sponsored by AppleTree and was part of the Boy Scout’s “Scouting for Food” campaign.
An AppleTree lapel pin, given that it’s gold this was possibly meant for management
This Eagle Discount Supermarket patch is a little rough for wear but is only of the only examples I’ve seen of their Houston division.
This button was from the electronic chain McDuff who offered a 110% price matching guarantee which would net the customer money if they found a lower price.
Pace Membership was only ever so briefly in Houston, so this button likely predates
This Randall’s button was distributed to employees to wear during their 20th anniversary in 1986.
This button was distributed for Randall’s employees during their 21st anniversary in 1987.
This name tag comes from a Randall’s Flagship location, Randall’s engraved their employees position onto the tag.
This is another of Katy’s name tags from Randall’s Flagship. This one is a bit unusual as it was from Randall’s in-house coffee bar.
Rice Epicurean sprang for the cheaper option on name tags from the same company, choosing only to engrave the company logo.
A 7-Eleven Jerry’s Kids Campaign Pin
An Auchan logo pin, I actually purchased this from France for myself
Bud’s Discount City was a small chain Wal-Mart ran mostly to fulfill lease obligations when moving to Supercenters.
This I Heart Kroger Texas was one of the first pins I acquired.
Included in the lot was this Houston division Kroger Pin
Luther’s items are a rarity, but I did manage to find this single pin!
This is a pin from Outback Outpost. You can just barely make out the Outpost logo above the word Houston.
Here is another PACE badge, this one does not have the red arrow featured in the other.
These three Randall’s pins are tiny! It is possible that this one is gold plated.
These would probably have been given to management within the company.
This pin features the early 80s logo which helps to date them.
This pin is an old style Wal-Mart
While the smaller of the two is actually the Supercenter!
This pin is from Sutherland’s Hardware stores which has nearly left the Houston area.
Cool stuff! Do you remember where the Auchan used to be, when it opened, and when it closed? I remember as a kid seeing one in Houston and then never seeing it again until I lived abroad in Eastern Europe.
I do remember Auchan, very well! It was the store my family chose to shop at while I was growing up. I did later visit a couple in France, but nothing compared to the behemoth on the Beltway.
That’s some pretty neat stuff. I don’t have much stuff like this. I do have some retail magnets and a few other odd pieces like paint stirring sticks and rulers. One retail magnet I have is also a name tag. When HEB first opened their Pantry Foods stores in this area in around 1992 or 1993, they were giving out magnets at the grand opening. These weren’t just any kind of magnets though, they were employee name tags with the store’s phone number written where the employee’s name would go. The ink from the marker has almost completely faded away, but the store is long gone anyway and the rest of the tag looks good.
Cool stuff! Do you remember where the Auchan used to be, when it opened, and when it closed? I remember as a kid seeing one in Houston and then never seeing it again until I lived abroad in Eastern Europe.
I do remember Auchan, very well! It was the store my family chose to shop at while I was growing up. I did later visit a couple in France, but nothing compared to the behemoth on the Beltway.
That’s some pretty neat stuff. I don’t have much stuff like this. I do have some retail magnets and a few other odd pieces like paint stirring sticks and rulers. One retail magnet I have is also a name tag. When HEB first opened their Pantry Foods stores in this area in around 1992 or 1993, they were giving out magnets at the grand opening. These weren’t just any kind of magnets though, they were employee name tags with the store’s phone number written where the employee’s name would go. The ink from the marker has almost completely faded away, but the store is long gone anyway and the rest of the tag looks good.
That’s an incredible score, I’d love to see a picture of the nametag!
I just sent you an e-mail with a photo of the HEB name tag magnet. Let me know if you didn’t receive it.