Historic Houston Restaurants

[Subdude]

and of course, Jamail's Grocery on Kirby next to House of Pies. The original upscale grocery store in Houston.

[sevfiv]

jamail closing

i was good friends with a jamail in high school...went to the store a couple times...

sad

[57Tbird]

i was good friends with a jamail in high school

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Me too. Where?

[Trophy Property]

Reminds me of White Castle Hamburgers. 

They open one here, everyone who grew up with it gets excited and goes a couple of times and that's it -- not enough to keep the place(s) in business, because, after all, they're not really good, just nostalgic, and they can't compete with other (better) places that are here.

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No flame here, to each his own. But when and where did White Castle open. I have eaten there a few times when traveling and I absolutely love them. Was this recent of many moons ago.

[lowspark]

No flame here,  to each his own.  But when and where did White Castle open.  I have eaten there a few times when traveling and I absolutely love them.  Was this recent of many moons ago.

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I think White Castle opened here in the mid or late 80s. There was one on S. Post Oak near W. Belfort if I remember correctly, and I don't know what other locations they had. I'm pretty sure they didn't stay in business a whole year.

[ScottP]

A Steak 'n Shake is going to open in Tomball on F.M. 2920 sometime soon. My company is doing the engineering for the shopping center that it's going to be in.

[Heights2Bastrop]

$1.19 "Dollar Nineteen" Steakhouse.

They had, what else, steaks that cost, well duh, $1.19.

Did I mention Toddle House before?

[sevfiv]

A Steak 'n Shake is going to open in Tomball on F.M. 2920 sometime soon. My company is doing the engineering for the shopping center that it's going to be in.

do you know if any others are planned in the houston area?

i like steak 'n shake...not necessarily the food, more the place itself. and it would be cool to be able to go to it other than when i go out of town...

[technoevil]

A Steak 'n Shake is going to open in Tomball on F.M. 2920 sometime soon. My company is doing the engineering for the shopping center that it's going to be in.

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Cool. Are there going to be any others?

[brucesw]

You're right about the one on Almeda.  I had forgotten about that one.  I lived in an apartment in the 1800 block of Ewing, and it was just around the corner a few blocks away.  One of my favorites was their Texas Special...an open-faced hamburger with cheese and covered with chili.

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Can't say that I remember that dish. I went to the one in the River Oaks Theatre bldg many times for breakfast in the late 70s, early 80s, and the one on Memorial not long before it closed.

[brucesw]

I used to love the CFS at Dirty

[djrage]

I used to live in the neighborhood across the street from that Randalls...about 7 years ago.  When I was there, there was a taqueria in the parking lot.  Strange thing about the taqueria...it was run by an Asian guy. 

There used to be Charlie's all over the place.  What was their slogan?  "Over 2 dozen sold"?

I know there used to be one on Telephone Rd near Lockwood.  There was one down in Clear Lake (Bay Area Blvd or Clear Lake City Blvd?).  I also think there was one at Westheimer and 610...which has now become the classy "Zone D' Erotica" 

I only ate at Charlie's once or twice...it didn't leave much of an impression on me, but I wasn't as smart as I am now.  What's everyone else's opinion of Charlie's?

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The place on Telephone near Lockwood was also a Luke's Hamburgers. I grew up in that area and went there a few times.

[djrage]

speaking of that Steak and egg place..i just noticed the other day, the old building is gone and a big pawn shop is there now!  bummer, i think that little building that steak and egg was in had to have been there since the 30's or 40's.

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I believe the Steak and Egg building was built into the pawn shop. A couple of months back while it was under construction. I noticed they were building around it and looked like it was going to be enclosed by the new building.

[djrage]

Mr. Gatti's (their still around somewhere)

Showbiz Pizza (AKA Chuck E. Cheese)

Del Taco (their still around!)

JoJo's (breakfast house...y'all know what I am talking about right?)

Champs

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My first job was at a Mr Gatti's Pizza in the Kroger shopping center on Telephone and Belfort back in 86. Its a pawn shop now.

The Del-Taco on S. Braeswood was remodeled (inside) and opened as a Shipleys Donuts in 2000. (I vaguely remember walking by the Del-Taco in 85 as I walked over to my girlfriends house)

I remember Der Weinerschnitzel in Houston when I was little (during the 70s). There is still an A shaped building on Martin Luther King near Van Fleet. There's another one in Pasadena on Southmore near Pasadena blvd.

Piccadilly was in Northline, Gulfgate, and Northwest mall... those I know of.

There was a Wyatts Cafeteria in the Gerlands shopping center on Belfort and Dunn. (70s - mid 80s)

Remember GW Jrs?

Godfather's Pizza (The Pizza you cant refuse)

There are several buildings around town that I've seen that are identical. That look like they might have been part of a Chinese restaurant chain. There's one on Wirt south of Longpoint. Another on Berry Rd west of Jensen. Another on Edgebrook west of Theta (a doctors office) and one on MLK south of Reed Rd (that one is a convenient store now) and another on Hiram Clark and W. Orem. Anyone know which ones I'm talking about? What were they originally?

[tomv]

Did anyone mention San Jacinto Inn at the Battlegrounds? Loved going there as a kid, even though I wasn't much of a seafood eater then. Driving there made for a great family outing on a weekend afternoon. They had a huge dining room up on the second floor, and meals were served family style by waiters in white coats. They had a "winter dinner" and a "summer dinner"- main difference was crabs in the summer, oysters in the winter. I think the building's still there, wonder if one day it might be reopened?

[BayouCityGirl]

anyone mention, "Kettle" I have seen a couple of those looming around far and few and inbetween

[Watchful]

There are several buildings around town that I've seen that are identical. That look like they might have been part of a Chinese restaurant chain. There's one on Wirt south of Longpoint. Another on Berry Rd west of Jensen. Another on Edgebrook west of Theta (a doctors office) and one on MLK south of Reed Rd (that one is a convenient store now) and another on Hiram Clark and W. Orem. Anyone know which ones I'm talking about? What were they originally?

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The one on Edgebrook....I am thinking it was a dry cleaners.

[ScottP]

do you know if any others are planned in the houston area?

i like steak 'n shake...not necessarily the food, more the place itself.  and it would be cool to be able to go to it other than when i go out of town...

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The Tomball location is the only one I know of right now. I will let you know if I hear of any more, though.

[Trophy Property]

anyone mention, "Kettle" I have seen a couple of those looming around far and few and inbetween

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There used to be a Kettle at JFK and the Beltway. I am not sure if it still there, but I can totally see it in my head.

I ate a Waffle House yesterday on my way home from Lake Charles. I am amazed that place stays open. It was pretty dirty and the service was horrible. I have to admit my egg sammy was pretty decent.

[belmontdrew]

Here's a ton that I remember from the 80's! Pipe Organ Pizza (they still have these in other states) - they had great video games and cool prizes!...Golden Chick - I think there was one where the Dolce Freddo/Ben & Jerry's is on Kirby near Rice Village...Tamale's was a cool restaurant located in Rice Village where Fu's Garden is now...Charlie's Hamburgers were allllll over the place - Rice Village on Times, Spring, Katy...Poor Man's Country Club was a cool sports bar that had barbecue on University in Rice Village where the bank next to El Meson is...The Bagel Manufactory was on Rice Blvd in the Village...El Pollo Loco had many locations including downtown and one on Kirby near Rice Village where the dental place is now...Destefano's Pizza was a very very 80's little league sports bar pizza restaurant (Moon Patrol & Ms. PacMan were all the rage) where Andre's Wigs is now in Weslayan Shopping Center (near the Randall's) off Weslayan and Bissonnet...there was a Wienerschnitzel where the Wendy's on Westheimer in the Montrose is now. I still believe that Two Pesos was such a better restaurant than Taco Cabana! Their chicken fajita tacos were something West U families frequently went out to eat!....what else....Eddie's Pizza was in a little shack in the parking lot of Windsor Plaza on Richmond (across from where Best Buy is now)....the old house on University near Rice that has housed Mr. Gatti's for awhile now started out as something called "Z's Pizza"...Bertha's was absolutely the best Mexican food in town - she had one downtown in an old stand alone building...then she moved it into a skyscraper....finally she moved it to the far right corner of that shopping strip on Montrose (next to and across the street from where Diedrick's coffee is now...The Cultured Cow was a great "frozen yogurt" place that also had great baked potatos - there was one in Rice Village across the street from where Ruggles is now and one in Galleria II where Dylan's Candy Store is now...Big Frank's was a great "Chicago Style" hot dog restaurant on the corner of Sunset and Kirby (it's a bank now)....I really really miss these places: The Antone's in Sharpstown Mall was huge and had barrel tables with barrel chairs out on a patio...the Antone's on Main (where Taco Cabana) is now was a neat location....The Orange Julius in the Sharpstown Mall food court was somewhere we visited each time we went to the mall - back then it seemed like more people went to Sharpstown more often than the Galleria!....The Village Cafe was a short lived restaurant right on Kirby in the Village - there's a bike shop there now and on the front you can still see where the patio was!....on south Main near the Dome there was a huge Gabby's barbecue place that was very very popular...on Montrose just north of where 59 crossed over there was a shaved ice drive thru called Snow Biz that was open until late and had probably 50 or so flavors! - I think the building became a Bambolino's, which I think was recently moved to Westheimer near Hugo's.....Anyone remember Albritton's Cafeteria? there was one on Bellaire in that shopping center that contains Antone's and Eckerds. There was a Ruby Tuesday on Holcombe in the Barnes & Noble, Randall's shopping center - it is a Chik-Fil-A now. All these memories...and great eateries! Such a shame they're all gone!

[brucesw]

You remember some good ones, belmontdrew. I didn't remember the Antone's in Sharpstown Center. The Tamales was in an old Meyer Bros. store in the Village, I think (or the Meyer Bros. might have been the store next door). I remember Yamin's and Stefano's pizza places; they had been one chain at one time, but went their separate ways and now both are gone. The Ming's on Montrose just north of Westheimer was a Big Frank's.

Go to this page:

http://users.ev1.net/~plhailey/hpat/index.html

click on Topics, go to Restaurants and Diners, page 3, scroll down to the series of pics labeled 23469, #s 1 thru 13 -- it's an Albritton's, I think the one on Waugh, which was the only one I ever went to.

Lot's of great pics of old restaurants on that site, many of which I've never heard of.

[nmainguy]

Niki's on Kirby [now Jalopena's]

Azaela Terrace in Foley's downtown-5th fl. [?]

2-K's-ice cream

Vargo's

Wyatt Cafeteria on W. 43rd

Huston's Drugstore on Washington-soda fountain

Kapan's

Borden's Ice cream-downtown [soon to be new #1/#8 firestation]

Gee's- Airline at Crosstimber's

Shakey's pizza [still around?]

Stables on Westhiemer

Simpson's Diner

Alfreds in the Village

Lot's more I'm sure-too many dead brain cells ago

[Lowbrow]

Niki's on Kirby [now Jalopena's]

Azaela Terrace in Foley's downtown-5th fl. [?]

2-K's-ice cream

Vargo's

Wyatt Cafeteria on W. 43rd

Huston's Drugstore on Washington-soda fountain

Kapan's

Borden's Ice cream-downtown [soon to be new #1/#8 firestation]

Gee's- Airline at Crosstimber's

Shakey's pizza [still around?]

Stables on Westhiemer

Simpson's Diner

Alfreds in the Village

Lot's more I'm sure-too many dead brain cells ago

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Vargo's is still open on Fondren. I haven't heard anything good about it in quite a while though.

[brucesw]

I think that was called the Houston Oil Company.

That also reminds me of the Filling Station (I think it was called that) on Richmond maybe near Fountainview. They had an old-time red gas pump in front.

Also, does anyone remember Dean Goss Dinner Theatre? Dean Goss was a pretty big presence in Houston in the 70s.

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Where was his place? On South Main? I remember the one in T&C - Windmill Dinner Theatre, I think.

I met Dean Goss once (maybe more). He was talking about a game show concept he had that he was trying to sell to 13 and said some interest had also been expressed by one of the networks. I don't think anything ever came of it.

I drove down West Gray the other day, very, very slowly, much to the amusement of fellow motorists, looking around a lot. That street has undergone major changes in the 35 years I've been in Houston. I remembered Captain John's, a restaurant on the SW corner of W. Gray and McDuffie. The front of the building was angled to a point, like the bow of a ship; there was a tall slender neon-lighted spire, like the mast of a ship. Didn't look as much like a boat as the Capt. Bennys, tho. It was set up kind of high off the ground as I remember. They served steaks, seafood - wasn't just a seafood restaurant. I only went once or twice but it must've been pretty popular with the River Oaks crowd.

The Mrs. Baird's bakery was a little east, probably at W. Gray and Woodhead, on the SE corner. Further east on the north side of the street was the Sanitary Farm Dairies; up on Waugh was the Carnation plant.

[lowspark]

Where was his place?  On South Main?  I remember the one in T&C - Windmill Dinner Theatre, I think.

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I don't know if it was always there but in 1979 it was on Westridge Rd (that's one of the streets that spikes out from the Astrodome).

And yes, I do remember the Windmill Dinner Theatre in Town & Country!

[DavidATX]

There is a Mr. Gattis out in Tomball. Ate there about a month ago.

Godfathers Pizza on 1960

House of Pies on 1960

Nighthawk Steak house (there is only one left, the Frisco in Austin)

Oscars Creamery (I think they just moved, but it aint the same if you know what I mean)

I wish a Baja Fresh or Burrito Brothers would open here.

[BayouCityGirl]

Godfather's I have seen around across the nations in some states. I don't remember where.

[TJones]

Shakey's Pizza, on 610 south, Pipe Organ Pizza on 45 south and my all-time favorite, Swenson's Ice cream parlor in Northwest and Almeda malls. Now a more notable would be Planet Hollyweird, but I really don;t think anyone really misses it. I worked there for awhile, what a nightmare.

[hajones]

How about Jim's? It was a place kinda like Jo-Jo's or Denny's. Scarfed down many a double order of chicken fried steaks at 3 AM after a hard night of partying:)

There was a Steak-n-Shake in Pasadena, on Southmore.

[djrage]

The JoJo's on S. Braeswood, 1 block w. of Hillcroft, has been vacant for about 15 years now and you can hardly see the building for the overgrown shrubbery.  The JoJos on Wilcrest @ 59 became a Champs and is now an Exxon station. 

I don't know what ever happened to the Champs - they always seemed to do a good business but the food wasn't anything special.  I only ate at one a couple of times.

I think a lot of the JoJos went into former Sambo's locations.

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Has JoJos on S Braeswood been closed that long? I had a job driving a tow truck back in 2000 I was out there late one night and began feeling nostalgic and remembering the times I walked through there as I was on my way to my girlfriends house. Anyway, I came upon JoJo's and noticed it dark. I parked across the street from it and walked up to the door. There was a notice for the customers on the door thanking them for their business and basically saying they were closed. To the right was a window and I could see in and noticed that all of the tables were set, silverware and napkins placed, salt, pepper ketchup bottles at the center of the tables as if they had been set for the next day. It didn't look like it had been closed long... almost as if they had just closed the night before. Even the grass looked like it had been cut recently. That was the last time I was out there. Anyone know if it's still like that inside or has it been boarded up since?