Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today, I have some sad news. An “Upper Kirby” landmark, the Antique Pavilion, and surrounding businesses will soon be demolished as part of a redevelopment of the block. Before we talk about the building’s future, let’s first discuss its past. The current structure at 2311 Westheimer was initially built by Randall’s in 1965. This location was not built by the Randall’s you’re probably thinking about, but rather the original Randall’s founded in 1946 by A.P. Randall. At that time, the chain was purchased by Blocker Martin, who expanded the single store …
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Halloween Costume Conversions 2022: Featuring Randall’s, Sears, and More!
Boo! And welcome to Houston Historic Retail! Today, we’re celebrating Halloween by checking out four costume conversions in what is HHR’s longest-running theme post dating back to 2018. Man, I was really playing to an empty room back then, but thankfully my fan base has grown substantially there are dozens of you now! Ever since the 2019 debut of Costume Conversions, the series has always been a favorite of mine. It’s always fun to get back into a dead retailer and see what got left behind. This year, we have the privilege of visiting a chain never seen as a …
Keep readingThe Kroger-Albertsons Merger, and what it could mean for Houston
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail. Today we’ll be discussing the Kroger and Albertsons merger/buyout announced last week and what it could mean for Houston. So I’m not accused of burying the lead here, the short answer is we don’t know the exact impact yet. The long answer, however, is we know enough that we can make some predictions. For those out of the loop, Kroger has officially agreed to acquire Albertsons for $24.6 Billion. In Houston, Albertsons is represented by Randall’s, which was acquired along with the rest of Safeway back in 2015. Kroger, on the …
Keep readingSouth Shore Harbour Randalls Gets A Colorful Remodel
Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest submission from HHR’s good friend Anonymous in Houston with the photos being taken by Mike. Also, Mike will be the featured speaker tonight at 7 pm (10/5) for the Houston Preservation Society. Click Here to live stream the broadcast! The subject of today’s post here at Houston Historic Retail is something of an oddity here in the 2020s, a suburban Houston-area Randall’s store that appears to be doing quite well. The South Shore Harbour Randall’s is located at 2951 Marina Bay Dr. in League City, TX. For those not familiar with the South …
Keep readingRandall’s continues to thrive in this former Austin Safeway
Howdy, folks, and welcome back to HHR. This week, we’re digging back into some unposted photos from summer vacation. Today we’re in Austin, checking out a former Safeway that ended up part of the reacquisition cycle via Safeway and is still going strong even under Albertson’s ownership. This store at 2025 W Ben White Blvd, Austin, TX 78704, originally started out in the parking lot of today’s location as a simple Marina-style Safeway, opening in 1966. The store was updated similarly to the San Marcos Safeway, where the new store was constructed on an adjacent plot of land while the old …
Keep readingEl Rancho-Randall’s, a match made in Boise
Howdy Neighborinos, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail! Today we’re entering new territory and checking out an El Rancho in a former Randall’s. For those not in the know, El Rancho is a Hispanic grocery chain originating out of Garland. An investment was made in the grocer by Albertsons in 2017 while looking to diversify their extensive mainline store operations with something more niche. This began a special partnership, where El Rancho stores would have first dibs on taking over old Randall’s leases and also began carrying Safeway and Albertson’s store brand items. With the first Randall’s conversion opening …
Keep readingNorth Houston’s Remarkable Handy Randalls in Champions
Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a guest submission from HHR’s good friend Anonymous in Houston with the photos being taken by Mike For close to 50 years, the supermarket featured in this blog post has been one of, if not the, most upscale supermarkets in all of the northern half of Houston. With that in mind, it’s fair to say that this supermarket is truly remarkable! This remarkable store, the Randall’s Flagship store at 5219 FM 1960 W and Champion Forest Dr., started life out as a Handy Andy Supermarket when it opened on April 8, 1974 in the Champions …
Keep readingWhy did Safeway close the Fuqua and Sabo Randall’s?
Howdy folks, and welcome back to Houston Historic Retail! Today we’re checking out a 1980s Randall’s that has had quite an interesting second life. This former Randall’s at 11021 Fuqua St, Houston, TX 77089, opened store opened in 1984. Taking part in a triple grand opening stunt, which is just as it sounds. Two newly built Randall’s stores and one old Weingarten that had been acquired about a month before all held a grand opening special on the same day! The new store was a first for Randall’s, it wasn’t a revolutionary new design or anything along those lines. Rather, …
Keep readingRandall’s Weslayan Remodel brings up traces of a Weingartens past
Howdy folks, and welcome back to HHR. Over these past few weeks, we’ve discussed the slow dissolution of Randalls throughout the Houston area. As of this post, we’re down to 15 Houston area stores and only a couple more over in Austin. As sad as this is, there was a point where Randalls was king of Houston, and as could pretty much do whatever they wanted. By the early 80s, Randalls was becoming a dominant third behind Kroger and Safeway who had dominated the Houston market for the past 10 years, smothering out independents and local chains. One of those …
Keep readingBarnes & Noble booted from Vanderbilt Square, and why this could mean trouble for Randall’s
Howdy folks, and welcome back to HHR. We’re coming to you today with some sad news, which seems to happen more often than not lately. The second to last Barnes & Noble location inside the loop has quietly shut its doors after a nearly 30-year stay in the shopping center. Located at 3003 W Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX 77025 along with Randall’s, the stores represent the center’s original anchors. According to an interview with Community Impact, B&N had no desire to close the store and rather was ‘asked to leave. This also lines up with a 2021 resigning of the …
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