[LTAWACS]

BigSky, on Friday, February 6th, 2009 @ 9:53pm, said:

Lunch time...Going to HOB for lunch and passed by Guadalajara....It was full for lunch as well. Again. I think lunch is going to keep HP alive and slowly once we get out of this recession you will see the next revival of downtown houston and HP/OPP/Discovery Green will lead the way

Cool. I might take the wife out for dinner there. I will never go back to HOB though. The food was quite bland. What do you think of it?

[KinkaidAlum]

I drove by Guadalajara tonight on my way back from Christ Church. It wasn't packed (at about 10ish) but there were several tables occupied near the windows and a few people waiting for the valet. That's a good sign because I don't think the Rockets played at home tonight?

[houstonranger]

correct on rockets

[KinkaidAlum]

Uh-oh. About the only good thing about this announcement will be the entertainment on this thread...

LUCKY STRIKE IS ON HOLD.

The Chron is reporting that they've finished about half the build out but have run out of funding and are looking for other investors. Denton and other retailers/restaurants/bars are downplaying the effect this will have, but this is prety major.

Lucky Strike was billed as an anchor. Losing an anchor at this stage of the game is terrible.

I am sure the restaurants are especially sad to see this as they could have counted on folks coming for dinner before heading over to bowl/drink/play games.

[LTAWACS]

KinkaidAlum, on Saturday, February 7th, 2009 @ 12:44am, said:

Uh-oh. About the only good thing about this announcement will be the entertainment on this thread...

LUCKY STRIKE IS ON HOLD.

The Chron is reporting that they've finished about half the build out but have run out of funding and are looking for other investors. Denton and other retailers/restaurants/bars are downplaying the effect this will have, but this is prety major.

Lucky Strike was billed as an anchor. Losing an anchor at this stage of the game is terrible.

I am sure the restaurants are especially sad to see this as they could have counted on folks coming for dinner before heading over to bowl/drink/play games.

I knew it!

This post has been edited by LTAWACS: Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 1:54 AM

[fewellman]

That really sucks! That was the one place i was looking forward too the most............

[HtownWxBoy]

fewellman, on Saturday, February 7th, 2009 @ 1:06pm, said:

That really sucks! That was the one place i was looking forward too the most............

Ditto.

[DrLan34]

I was thinking that lucky stike along with HOB were going to be the two major things that will really make Houston Pavilions a huge success... damn. I guess the wine bars will be the next best thing after HOB.

[scarface]

damn this bites megabytes. I knew this was going to happen because it was taking too long.

HAIF Experts!!! How long could this thing potentially be on hold?

[HtownWxBoy]

It's not canceled... just on hold... try and be a little optimistic.

[BigSky]

LTAWACS, on Saturday, February 7th, 2009 @ 1:20am, said:

Cool. I might take the wife out for dinner there. I will never go back to HOB though. The food was quite bland. What do you think of it?

I've eaten there quite a few times and enjoy the food. I've ordered the meatloaf and their cornbread is delicious, you might want to try the ribs as well. I would give it another shot.

For lunch in downtown Houston HOB vs. the Park Shops. I will take HOB.

HtownWxBoy, on Sunday, February 8th, 2009 @ 3:19pm, said:

It's not canceled... just on hold... try and be a little optimistic.

I wonder how much is Lucky Strike short. I was also looking forward to this anchor coming into HP and I thought it was one of the most important ones to be in there. I think it is a good investment and will definetly make the money back with all of the downtown corporations looking for outings and weekend activities for adults.

[kylejack]

What's up with the dueling pianos? I was looking forward to that as well.

[LTAWACS]

HtownWxBoy, on Sunday, February 8th, 2009 @ 1:19pm, said:

It's not canceled... just on hold... try and be a little optimistic.

[Jax]

I was looking forward to bowling without having to drive (I usually take the Metro Rail when I go downtown). Too bad it isn't going to happen for a while.

[tomv]

I finally got to check this out and I was impressed, except of course for all the vacant space.

I entered off Main and walked the three blocks east.

When you come out the other end, there's the Park Shops mall, the Hilton, and the Toyota Center, all right in front of you. What a great idea!

The corridors are very appealing. The fact that you are right in the middle of Downtown gives the place an air of excitement that just wouldn't be there if you were almost anywhere else.

The bookstore has a great selection and is very appealing. It's a nice thing to have Downtown, though there weren't many people there at about 7pm on a Saturday night. The Forever 21 next door was busier and it looked like people were actually buying things as opposed to hanging out...

This project is a winner I think and a great addition to the city!

I hope they can get more space leased out to retailers. If so, adding that to the Macy's and the Park Shops might make Downtown a shopping destination.

[Pumapayam]

KinkaidAlum, on Saturday, February 7th, 2009 @ 12:44am, said:

Uh-oh. About the only good thing about this announcement will be the entertainment on this thread...

LUCKY STRIKE IS ON HOLD.

The Chron is reporting that they've finished about half the build out but have run out of funding and are looking for other investors. Denton and other retailers/restaurants/bars are downplaying the effect this will have, but this is prety major.

Lucky Strike was billed as an anchor. Losing an anchor at this stage of the game is terrible.

I am sure the restaurants are especially sad to see this as they could have counted on folks coming for dinner before heading over to bowl/drink/play games.

Wow, they only built half of it, and it was originally supposed to open 2 months ago.

Everyone must be hurting.

Had the Pavilions started a year to two later, I bet the whole complex would have "Shamrock'd".

At least the "namesake" reflects the old Pavilions in uptown situation . . . lots of vacancies.

This post has been edited by Pumapayam: Monday, February 9, 2009 at 11:49 AM

[LTAWACS]

This is not good.

[N Judah]

I think a Jamba Juice would be nice.

[Pumapayam]

N Judah, on Monday, February 9th, 2009 @ 11:31am, said:

I think a Jamba Juice would be nice.

Ya because a Jamba Juice will save the complex and finally convince Lucky Strike it is safe to invest and open. . .

[LTAWACS]

N Judah, on Monday, February 9th, 2009 @ 11:31am, said:

I think a Jamba Juice would be nice.

I'm not so sure about that. I think they are somewhat on par with a starbux. In a recession, places like that are the first to go.

[N Judah]

I think there just aren't any good smoothie places downtown. Maybe it can replace "Lidz."

[kylejack]

N Judah, on Monday, February 9th, 2009 @ 8:54pm, said:

I think there just aren't any good smoothie places downtown.

But I love the Smoothie King!

[LTAWACS]

kylejack, on Monday, February 9th, 2009 @ 6:58pm, said:

But I love the Smoothie King!

Just get a shake at burger king. After all you'll need something to wash down that triple whopper.

[kylejack]

LTAWACS, on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 @ 1:07am, said:

Just get a shake at burger king. After all you'll need something to wash down that triple whopper.

There are no Burger Kings in downtown. There are several Smoothie Kings, though.

[sevfiv]

Did the Burger King on the corner of Travis and Capitol finally kick the bucket?

[kylejack]

sevfiv, on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 @ 11:08am, said:

Did the Burger King on the corner of Travis and Capitol finally kick the bucket?

Yeah, a year or more ago.

[sevfiv]

kylejack, on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 @ 9:15am, said:

Yeah, a year or more ago.

Wow - guess I haven't been paying attention

Did anything take its place?

[kylejack]

sevfiv, on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 @ 11:20am, said:

Wow - guess I haven't been paying attention

Did anything take its place?

It sat empty and sad for a long time, but I haven't been over that way in a while, so I'm not sure.

[tierwestah]

Man this a damn shame. I was wondering why the one thing i was looking forward to was taking so long and kept getting pushed back. I'm just wondering how the development ran out of funding when they backed out on building the condos that were supposed to be built over the thing. They didn't have to pay back the 154 million that they secured on the original plans before it was scaled down. What gives?

[kylejack]

tierwestah, on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 @ 11:54am, said:

Man this a damn shame. I was wondering why the one thing i was looking forward to was taking so long and kept getting pushed back. I'm just wondering how the development ran out of funding when they backed out on building the condos that were supposed to be built over the thing. They didn't have to pay back the 154 million that they secured on the original plans before it was scaled down. What gives?

Because HP can't control whether or not their potential tenants move in and complete their own construction. HP's capital has nothing to do with Lucky Strike securing enough capital to complete construction of the bowling alley.

[totheskies]

So right now, HP is surviving solely because of the House of Blues and XXI. The other stores aren't making enough to bereak even yet. HOB and XXI probably haven't yet either, but at least they're getting close. Poor Lidz.

[kylejack]

totheskies, on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 @ 12:17pm, said:

So right now, HP is surviving solely because of the House of Blues and XXI. The other stores aren't making enough to bereak even yet. HOB and XXI probably haven't yet either, but at least they're getting close. Poor Lidz.

Well, the bookstore and Guadalajara and McCormick are paying rent to HP whether they are breaking even or not. McCormick is probably making money, though. Can be very busy at happy hour.

This post has been edited by kylejack: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 at 11:20 AM

[rsb320]

I'm almost positive that Burger King is not closed. The last time I went was after the hurricane and it was packed with construction workers. On any given day, it's usually packed with office workers. One time Drayton McLane was behind me in line - nice guy.

I brought my lunch, but it looks like I'll be having a Whopper now (if they're open).

[kylejack]

Hm, am I thinking of the wrong location...?

[musicman]

kylejack, on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 @ 10:24am, said:

Hm, am I thinking of the wrong location...?

the one at congress and fannin closed in the last yr or so.

This post has been edited by musicman: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 at 11:29 AM

[LTAWACS]

totheskies, on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 @ 10:17am, said:

So right now, HP is surviving solely because of the House of Blues and XXI. The other stores aren't making enough to bereak even yet. HOB and XXI probably haven't yet either, but at least they're getting close. Poor Lidz.

If only they had better crafted their business strategy to not sell only lids and miscellaneous knick-knacks.

[rsb320]

kylejack, on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 @ 10:24am, said:

Hm, am I thinking of the wrong location...?

Street level of the Houston Club building, south of Chase Tower.

[kylejack]

Oops :X Yep, I was thinking of the one that closed.

[rsb320]

kylejack, on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 @ 10:47am, said:

Oops :X Yep, I was thinking of the one that closed.

Mmmm, Whopper = good.

[N Judah]

kylejack, on Monday, February 9th, 2009 @ 5:58pm, said:

But I love the Smoothie King!

I much prefer Jamba Juice to Smoothie King. They're not even on the same level, imho. Comparing Smoothie King to a Burger King shake is about right.

This post has been edited by N Judah: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 at 4:08 PM

[houstonartstudent]

Well I have a little bit of bad news(well a lot of terrible news really)...walked around this evening with some friends and workers were boarding up the "previous" Lids store...and then we walked past Journeys and saw they had tons of boxes of inventory, but upon further look it turns out they're mailing product out to other stores...so it looks like they'll be boarding that one up pretty soon. I really hope the restaurants can weather out this recession and hopefully we won't see any more stores close before this topic moves out of the "Going Up" category

[BigSky]

houstonartstudent, on Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 @ 9:07pm, said:

Well I have a little bit of bad news(well a lot of terrible news really)...walked around this evening with some friends and workers were boarding up the "previous" Lids store...and then we walked past Journeys and saw they had tons of boxes of inventory, but upon further look it turns out they're mailing product out to other stores...so it looks like they'll be boarding that one up pretty soon. I really hope the restaurants can weather out this recession and hopefully we won't see any more stores close before this topic moves out of the "Going Up" category

To me, it was silly to have them placed where they were...They should have had them next to Forever XXI to build up some critical mass. In addition, those two stores is not the correct clientele for HP and the Downtown crowd.

[LTAWACS]

houstonartstudent, on Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 @ 8:07pm, said:

Well I have a little bit of bad news(well a lot of terrible news really)...walked around this evening with some friends and workers were boarding up the "previous" Lids store...and then we walked past Journeys and saw they had tons of boxes of inventory, but upon further look it turns out they're mailing product out to other stores...so it looks like they'll be boarding that one up pretty soon? I really hope the restaurants can weather out this recession and hopefully we won't see any more stores close before this topic moves out of the "Going Up" category.

Dear lord...

[kylejack]

I really think Lids and Journeys would have fared better if all the original stores had launched as planned. Bah, credit markets and Ike.

[C2H]

man, this sucks, first lucky strike backs out, now lidz, and soon to follow... Journeys??? Any good news going to happen soon?

This post has been edited by C2H: Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 2:22 AM

[RedScare]

According to CNBC....No.

[kylejack]

Opening next month:
Cork Wine Bar
The Board Room (bar)

Opening in next 2 months:
Andalucias Tapas
Mia Bella
Yao Restaurant

July:
III Forks (steakhouse)

[houstonartstudent]

kylejack, on Thursday, February 12th, 2009 @ 8:16am, said:

Opening next month:
Cork Wine Bar
The Board Room (bar)

Opening in next 2 months:
Andalucias Tapas
Mia Bella
Yao Restaurant

July:
III Forks (steakhouse)

Closing in 3 months:
BCBG Max
Books-A-Million
etc. etc.

Just kidding of course...I really am hoping for the best, we're just lucky the Pavilions altogether was built rather than being postponed and scraped completely. I predict the restaurants won't be a huge hit right now...but they'll more than likely survive...and in 1-2 years the retail will follow and this place will get exciting again!
For now let's do our part and dine at the places we want to keep

[kylejack]

I do not care for McCormick and Schmick's, so I'm holding out hope for Guadalajara, the tapas place, and Yao.

[Jeebus]

This should have been expected - recession or not. These type of developments are not organic, and when implanted in areas where there is no real NEED (not want or desire) they always fail. The difference will be whether the management company will be smart enough to do like the Park Shops and rebound with parcels that cater to the downtown day-time crowd, eg. restaurants & service oriented businesses. Retail will suffer here until the residential element grows.

This post has been edited by Jeebus: Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 10:41 AM