Howdy, folks, and welcome to Houston HIstoric Retail! Today we’re taking a look at a store that has stayed a chain grocer from inception to present, somewhat of a rarity in Houston! Today’s store, located at 7510 Bellfort Ave, Houston, TX 77061, was the first Safeway location to open in Houston. The first-ever plans for Safeway’s expansion to Houston occurred on the heels of the Dallas division expanding into Austin in the 1950s. While locations …
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This HEB was an Albertson’s Grocery Palace, not so much lately though
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’re checking out another Heberstons, this one at 10251 Kempwood Dr, Houston, TX 77043, if you were here the last time we took a look at an Albertsons turned HEB, it was down in Clear Lake. While we were there we discussed how the closing and relocation of that store was likely for the best. Even with the distaste that modern HEB decor leaves with …
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Eagle Discount Supermarket’s decor is still flying under the radar!
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. We take a lot of time to investigate retail remnants, bits, and pieces of former stores left behind, they’re always interesting to find. Whether it’s an old drive-thru post still in use by Burger King, or the arches of a Safeway store proudly fronting a Fiesta. Finding these retail remnants is almost like finding bits of a story. One of the reasons I so greatly enjoy …
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The best Food Town I’ve ever been to: The Grocery Palace
Howdy folks, and welcome to Houston Historic Retail! Today we’re taking a look at a grocery store I’ve been waiting to bring to you for a while! This store is the second in my “best” category, calling back to the original Foodarama post. This doesn’t mean it’s giving an outright superlative ranking as this chain’s “nicest” location. Rather, it’s the best that I have visited thus far. Today’s Food Town is located at 2770 North …
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Retail News: Phonecia’s got company, as 99 Ranch Market lands ex-CompUSA spot
Howdy folks, and welcome back to HHR. In this week’s news brief 99 Ranch Market lands an anchor spot, on Westheimer, and Quiktrip prepares for its first Houston proper location. 99 Ranch Market lands former CompUSA spot on Westheimer across from Phonecia Nearly two months ago, I posted some photos to Facebook of the old CompUSA/Goodwill Computer Works spot on Westheimer near Kirkwood. The interior of the buildings was being gutted, and nearly every tenant …
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Could Houston’s oldest Safeway locations date back to the 1950s?
Howdy folks, welcome back to HHR. Today we’re dipping out of Houston proper for the quick drive over to central Pasadena, no not to make fun of the Sears Hometown in the old mainline store there, (that update will be coming soon). Rather, we’re checking out a building I have passed up many times when it was masquerading as a Value Village. However, after a new business popped up inside I took the chance to …
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Weingarten’s Food Fair is over, now it’s Lewis’ Food Town
Weingarten is a grocer I never knew, They were gone by the time I was born but oddly were still held in high regard. The chain folded in 1983, after a buyout in 1979. While many put the blame onto an over-eager chain wanting to expand but incompetent in running stores in unfamiliar territory. While this is partly true, the issue was in fact much broader and stems from a little-known origin story, which is …
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Sellers Bros C-Stores the only branch left for this Grocery family tree
Howdy retail fans, and welcome! Today I have to start off with some delayed “breaking news” Longtime Houston grocery chain Sellers Bros. has been sold! Yes, it’s true, in a quiet move sometime towards the end of 2019, the Sellers family sold their grocery operations to Rafael Ortega, owner of La Michoacana Markets. As of yet, no public announcement has been made of the sale, however, Sellers Bros offices have closed, and all paperwork refers …
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This former TJ Maxx was once Jumbo!
Howdy Folks, and welcome back! This time we’re talking about a store I don’t know that well. Jumbo Markets is a grocery store that only comes up on occasion in Houston retail history. They were a very small chain, so most people who remember them, either lived or spent time around one of their stores. Only making it to six stores over a time period of about 13 years, Jumbo had lots of missteps in …
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Houston’s oldest TJ Maxx is in a former Weingartens
Rummel Creek Village is a very interesting shopping center. With wooden shingles, ample trees, and vintage facade, you almost feel closer to the Hill Country than Houston here. Despite fitting stylistically with the surrounding Memorial Villages area, Rummel Creek Village is actually entirely within Houston. It’s anyone’s guess as to how it has survived unchanged for so long, but thankfully with age the design has only gained charm. It almost looks like something that would …
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