Tag: Grand opening

Gordon Food Stores Houston arrival is imminent

Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re pausing from the norm to discuss a hot topic, the arrival of GFS or Gordon Food Stores in Houston. GFS is a food service store open to the public. Although GFS is a specialty chain, it does mark the arrival of the first new national grocery chain in Houston The Fresh Market failed to plant itself ten years ago. The move into Houston represents …

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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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Retail News: Tim Hortons opens second Houston location this Friday

Tim Horton’s plans to open its newest Houston location at 5312 W Richey Rd Houston, TX 77066. This location is the second in Texas to open after the Katy store opened about four months ago. The Canadian Coffee and Dougnut Shop has so far been well received, although those familiar with the chain have noted that the Houston stores are somewhat lacking compared to their Canuck counterparts. Most complaints revolve around our limited menu or …

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Retail News: Best Buy Outlet Moves into former Willowbrook Toys R Us

Best Buy Outlet’s newest store at 17776 TX-249 Ste 1, Houston, TX 77064 Best Buy Outlet has made its debut in a seemingly more permanent home in Northwest Houston. The “new store,” as it was announced earlier this year, is not truly brand new. As previously, Best Buy Outlet operated across 249, in a former Golf Galaxy location carved out of a mass ex-Venture/Kmart. While it is a bit disappointing that we ended up with …

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An unknown Shoney's location in 2009. Photo: Quinn Dombrowski

Shoney’s Houston Experiments from Church’s Chicken to Cheap Pizza

Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re taking a trip down a rabbit hole that starts back in the late 80s. We’ll talk about how Shoney’s presence in Texas has evolved over the years and what the future holds for a company that no longer operates any of its namesake restaurants within our state. To start, here’s a bit of history on Shoney’s. The company was started by the West Virginia …

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The Coney Cruiser

Retail News: The Coney Cruiser prepares to bring JCI back inside The Loop this Wednesday!

Good news for James Coney Island Fans! Houston’s oldest purveyors of hot dogs will be back inside the loop for at least a few hours this week. The location Coney Cruiser Food Truck will be parked outside of the former James Coney Island location at S. Shepherd and Richmond Ave on Wednesday, November 16th. The food truck will be open for lunch from 11:00 AM-2:00 PM. The truck will serve a pared-down version of the …

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Retail News: Big Grand Opening Weekend nets Houston two new Sporting Goods Stores

On Friday, Houston saw the grand opening of two new sporting goods outlets from well-established chains. Academy opened a location in Meyerland in a space left behind by a recently closed Hobby Lobby. This new Academy seems to have opened in response to competitor Dick’s Sporting Goods, who opened up shop across The Loop in the former Meyerland Plaza Bed Bath and Beyond. The new Academy is a bit of a compromise, as they are …

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Retail News: Ollie’s Bargain Outlet opens in Katy on October 26th

The newest Ollie’s Bargain Outlet in the Houston area is scheduled to open this Wednesday, October 26th. The new store, located at 1747 N Fry Rd, Katy, TX 77449, takes the place of a former Stein Mart and will be the second Ollie’s on Houston’s westside and the third overall in the area. The replacement of Stein Mart with Ollie’s sees a return to full tenancy for The Crossing at Fry, which has suffered with …

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Retail News: Ollie’s Friendswood to open Wednesday

Nearly one year after its debut, Ollie’s Bargain Outlet is opening a second Houston area location Wednesday, September 9th. This store located at 18182 Gulf Fwy, Friendswood, TX 77546, has been a long time coming and was part of the reason Houston lost its only Dick’s Warehouse store. As of now, Ollie’s third and only other publically planned Houston store is on the Westside at 1747 Fry Road Katy, TX 77449.

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