If you’re at all like me then you’re a person who pays attention to the city’s “signscape”. A littered mess of stylish corporate identities mixed side by side with generic bold letter text. Many signs around Houston are in foreign languages, you can easily find them in Vietnamese, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, and most often Spanish. An interesting addition to our signscape is CVS y más. Literally it means CVS and more, and the differences aren’t …
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7-Eleven is starting to get in the swing of things
Today we’re dropping in on a brand new convenience store! The last time we discussed 7-Eleven on the blog we found that progress on new stores in the Houston area was extremely slow. It all started in 2013 when the company acquired four Tetco stores to convert to 7-Eleven locations. By 2014 these locations would be had their names and signs changed and were carrying 7-Eleven branded products. It seemed like things were on track …
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Retail News: Krispy Kreme Closes, My Fit Foods Returns, and the Montrose shakeup continues
Have a retail tip you want to share? Houston Historic Retail now has a Twitter Account! @RetailHouston Krispy Kreme Closes in Pasadena Krispy Kreme in Pasadena has turned from temporarily to permanently closed. Signs have been removed from the store and broken up. Outside of large chunks of plastic signage behind the store everything else was intact. It’s possible Krispy Kreme may try to find a new franchisee for this location. However, given the fact …
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What Happens when a Valero doesn’t become a Circle K?
Today, we’re taking a quick look at a gas station in an unusual situation- a former Valero Corner Store that was not selected to be converted to Circle K. This location was built in Fredericksburg, TX in 1985. Based on the exterior features, it seems to have been a Corner Store from day one. Diamond Shamrock’s rural stores contained far fewer services compare to their urban counterparts, but they were still comparable to their ever …
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Retail News: Disco Kroger Closes, On Cue Opens, and Bill Miller has their eyes on West Houston
Happy New Year loyal reader, and welcome to another edition of retail news. This month we’re taking a look at a few different developments throughout the city. Disco Kroger Closes Let’s start with a bit of a letdown. Unfortunately, the Kroger at 3030 Montrose Boulevard, more affectionately known as Disco Kroger, is set to close tomorrow January 7th. I visited December 30th and the pharmacy along with most full-service departments had already been shut down. …
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Why the newest Target in Houston was actually an early Christmas Present
With all the craziness this year I haven’t had much time to tend to my blog. I was hoping to have this post out much earlier, but today we’ll be talking about why the newest Target in Houston is so special. With the holiday season wrapping up, there’s a good chance you’ve been to a Target lately, or at least in their parking lot. Target has an old history in Houston, they were the second …
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The Ghost of Sears Past | Willowbrook Sears dresses up for Halloween
As of 2020 Sears has nearly left the Houston area. They have shutdown all but the Pasadena store, sold their outlet chain, and shutdown all area Hometown stores. It’s really a shame for a chain that once had a major influence over the Greater Houston area. Their presence in this town was built as the city grew starting downtown and expanding to the suburbs as our sprawl progressed. In 1978 Sears announced plans for three …
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Checking in on Meyerland Plaza
Meyerland Plaza is one of Houston’s oldest continually operating shopping centers. Opening in 1957 as part of the Meyerland Housing Development it underwent an extensive renovation in the early 90s turning it from a more traditional outdoor mall to a department store anchored shopping center. Only a few original tenants managed to survive to the transition. The renovation added new features such as a second story and a new Venture Department Store. The mall has …
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Steak ‘n Shake leaves Houston and Taco Bueno Arrives
Happy Fourth of July! To celebrate lets check out two chains both on their second run in Houston. Steak ‘n Shake returned to Houston in 2008 with their Eldridge and 1960 location. With the Katy, Pearland, and Webster locations opening 2012-2013. The previous incarnation of Steak n Shake dated from the mid-1970s and would only last until 1978. While I was never able to find an exact reason for them leaving Houston, it seems that …
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Demolition Report: My attempt at a classic, February’s Retail Demolition Report
As with many of my current readers, I still have a huge, Swamplot shaped hole in my heart. The rise in my frequency of posting is largely due in part to a few readers contacting me and mentioning that this site helped somewhat to fill the void. In my research I sometimes check demolition reports. I have been wanting to share the demolition reports I’ve seen. However, I wanted to make some distinctions from Swamplot’s …
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