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cwrm4

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  1. cwrm4
    I stopped by Revival Market last night for a BLT sandwich, and I was very impressed with the whole operation. The sandwich was unbelievably good, and they appeared to stock everything you would need (meat, vegetables, bread) to cook a nice dinner. The place was packed, but I only had to wait ~5 min for the sandwich. As a few others have noted, it would appear that this place is what McCain's should have been (but wasn't).
  2. cwrm4
    Saw a liqour license app for the old Salud! winery space (end of the 2-story yellow strip mall next to Dirk's). It is shown for "Shade Cafe & Bakery"...presumably related to Shade in the Heigts. Does anyone have any info on this? Haven't seen anything on the Houston food blogs.
  3. cwrm4
    I'm curious, where did you find this information online?
  4. cwrm4
    Thanks for posting!
  5. cwrm4
    Honestly, I found the food there quite good but the ambiance (at night) quite depressing. It is not warm, nor minimalist industrial chic - it is just dim.
  6. cwrm4
    No suprise. I kinda got the impression it was a vanity project for the owners. I'm surprised it lasted this long. The problem was that that had nothing to drive regular traffic to the store. I could never understand why they wouldn't offer reasonably priced sandwiches, especially since they already had most of the fixings there. As it was, they wanted something like $9 or $10 for a ham sandwich, and you had to wait 15 minutes to get it. If they had had cheap sandwiches, I would have gone there regularly, and most likely would have made impulse purchases of the high margin items (sauces etc) while waiting. I told the owner that once, and he said their goal wasn't to be a "sandwich shop".
  7. cwrm4
    I would suspect the house was fairly trashed out on the inside. There are really two ways to remodel old houses...one, make them look like new construction on the inside (these days that means knocking down walls to create open floorplans), or two, restore them with period details and "hidden" upgrades. Restoring the homes using reclaimed doors, floors, fixtures, etc. is a lot work...the house really must be a labour of love, as it takes a lot of time to search out the correct pieces. If Baldwin's intent was to "flip" the home within a short timespan, then obviously the labour of love of route would not be prudent. I'm almost 4 years into my house restoration, and I'm still searching for a few pieces. At least Baldwin did keep the exterior to its original look, and furthermore, did not level the place and build 4 of his Allegro homes, which would have probably been more profitable in the end. As for marksmu's response to my original post, I won't dignify it with a directed reply, other than to say that what infuriates me the most is the inability of some people to properly spell the contraction of 'you are'. (It's YOU'RE not YOUR.)
  8. cwrm4
    Based on what I've heard he has in it, a selling price of $2.5 M would be something like $750k in profit. Not bad in two years. It's great that the house was saved and remodeled (I wouldn't say restored), but, as opposed to using period-correct and/or salvaged materials, the problem with that house is that it feels like one of those dime-a-dozen McVictorians on the inside. However, most Houston buyers would likely prefer the fake stuff. Yes, it is also a bit "flamboyant", especially the chandeliers.
  9. cwrm4
    I hope that is the truth. I heard my info - that the neighbor paid to have it repainted - at a party just down the street from the house, with several of the neighborhood association's officers in on the discussion.
  10. cwrm4
    Heard from a reliable source that the Bistro Vino building has be released by the new owner. 3 year lease, possibly for restaurant. But, no renewal option on the lease. I suspect the existing kitchen equipment in there is quite old and worn-out.
  11. cwrm4
    I had breakfast at the District 7 a few weeks back and was very impressed. That's the old-school diner looking place on Pierce, in the shadow of I-45. Technically, I guess it is in midtown/downtown, but it is a straight shot down Houston Ave. to get there from the Heights. Teotihuacan on Airline used to have a good brunch menu, but I haven't tried it (for breakfast) in a few years.
  12. cwrm4
    My understanding, from a close source, is that the guy in the house just to the west simply paid to have a coat of paint thrown on it, because he was "tired of looking at it like that". It makes me ill even to think about it, but I would say that there is a 90% chance the home will be knocked down within a couple years and replaced with townhomes. The lot is simply too big. Reckless townhome development in that neighborhood has really accelerated in the past year.
  13. cwrm4
    The people who are tasked with maximizing their investors' returns. You do not build a project of that magnitude without knowing exactly what the demographic for the property will be. Need proof? There will be a check cashing store at Sawyer Heights also.
  14. cwrm4
    Porchman - many thanks for the report on the meeting with the developer. Intelligent, well-written, factual posts such as yours are becoming increasingly rare on HAIF as the membership expands. While the architecture of the building reminds me of a budget-constrained project at your average second-tier university, at this stage, any new development would be good development for the area north of 19th -- as long as, of course, 19th Street retains its eclectic-for-Houston vibe. I must admit I also had not heard of the pending reconstruction of Yale and am curious as well as to the scope of that project.
  15. cwrm4
    Jax - is that an HDR image?
  16. cwrm4
    It would be nice to think that would be the case here, but we're not talking about $100mm independent oil companies, we're talking about a public corporation whose tenants are by and large either other public companies (B&N, Starbucks, Gap) or non-Houston-based private companies (e.g. Sur La Table). Furthermore, occasionally I am forced to attend functions that are written up in the society column, and, while the "old" money is still around, there is a lot of "newer" money infiltrating the high-end Houston scene. Many of those who constitute the newer money crowd are gleefully tearing down the original River Oaks homes so that they can have an additional 6000 sq ft for a media room and professional kitchen. If these folks don't even care about saving their houses, they are not going to care about the River Oaks shopping center, especially when the new plans give them a modern B&N at their doorstep. The only way the River Oaks shopping center, or the Victorian on Heights Blvd, will be saved is if the city designates them as protected landmarks - where protected means you can't tear it down, no matter if you own the property. Good luck.
  17. cwrm4
    I think he is talking about Sam Houston airport, which was bordered by South Main. Note in the picture on this link the B-24 in the upper right corner. http://houstonfreeways.com/images/sam_hous...ew_complete.jpg This airport was discusses previously on HAIF: http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...?showtopic=7454
  18. cwrm4
    I spoke with an executive with Whole Foods recently, and she said that their growth strategy is going to focus on 80,000 sq ft or larger stores - no more "little ones" like Kirby or Bellaire. She said that means, with the exception of the one scheduled for the Eatzi's location, new stores in affluent burb areas. According to her there are NO PLANS, and I say again NO PLANS, for a store in downtown, Midtown, or anywhere near the Heights. So, someone get that Trader Joe's letter writing campaign cranked back up.
  19. cwrm4
    Doubtful. The target demographic for that store ("urban male" according to the Journal) is the same that has caused so much consternation about the future of downtown nightlife due to this demographic's "imbalanced" presence on Main St. after dark and has thus already caused city leaders to take actions to "constrain" new clubs serving this demographic.
  20. cwrm4
    Heck yeah! The streets are even made of polished marble! Civis Romanus Sum!
  21. cwrm4
    So that's what happened to Midtown Bagel. I used to eat there quite frequently, went off on business for a few weeks, and came back to find it closed. What a bummer that was. On the original topic, has anyone been to the Central City Co-op produce market in Montrose? 2115 Taft in Ecclesia (?) on Wed and Sat. http://www.centralcityco-op.org Sounds like it has the making of an "unknown gem".
  22. cwrm4
    At least they kept the curve, white facades, and some resemblance to an Art Deco structure. They could have very easily knocked down Starbucks and thrown up (npi) a red-brick B&N like every other one in suburbia. Since there was absolutely no way that this development could have been stopped, I think we should be glad they made some efforts to integrate into the existing structures. Trust me, it could have been a lot, lot worse. The renderings must depict the location at 5:30 am on a Sunday morning, however. In real life, the surface parking will be as jammed and gridlocked as the Williams-Sonoma/PF Chang's lot.
  23. cwrm4
    Inside a cereal box.
  24. cwrm4
    Here's the rendering:
  25. cwrm4
    It was about 10:30 in the morning, on a nice, bright, perfect day. The kind of day that makes you wish you could walk around to shops and cafes if only they existed in Midtown. But they don't because of the Greyhound station. The first time it happened was about 4 years ago just after dark on a week night. A guy was walking across the street when he stopped in the middle of the street and let loose in front of me on the crosswalk on Webster. I do think he was severely drunk and/or "mentally disadvantaged". The guy Saturday was just being an a**hole. I did have some friends' Midtown townhome robbed a few years ago by a guy who had been released from prison that morning. He said he had just started walking from the bus station, got hungry, and needed some money (he was caught in the act by a neighbor). They moved shortly thereafter.
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