crooow579

Kroger opened their current store in Oak Forest in late 1998. I recall visiting the Kroger (the old Weingarten/Safeway) when the current store was under construction and I bought the new issue of MAD, which featured their spoofs of Armageddon and Deep Impact. I don't recall the swinging doors but I remember the low ceiling. I'm 5'10'' and it was too low for my comfort.

Big Lots was a Kroger. I worked at that Kmart for the last month of its existence in 1997 and the MacFrugals (now Big Lots) didn't do anything to the Kroger except change the sign. The remodel came later. That intersection of Jones at FM 1960 had a lot of merchants that are gone, including 3 grocery stores! Let's see what was there in the not-too-distant past... SW corner (Steeplechase shopping center): -Palais Royal (one of the very few still in business) -Safeway -Best Products -Target (moved down 1960 to Eldridge) SE Corner -Kmart (moved to Willowbrook in 1997) -Kroger NE Corner -Eagle (store became Crafts Etc., another defunct retailer) -Computer City (Tandy's long-gone stab at the PC market) And to add to the list of Houston-area Safeway stores, there was one at Cypress N. Houston and Huffmeister. It's now a Food Town. I recall a location in Quail Valley (Missouri City area) but I couldn't tell you where exactly. And there was one near NASA-I recall it was small and the street sign had the circle S logo painted on a small square sign.

Yes, that part of N. Houston-Rosslyn was bypassed in the early 90s when the road was widened to 4 lanes. There was a bar and grill there called Zach's Shack. It was popular with the employees of the oil and gas companies that still line that road. I went there once for a wedding reception and stickers advertising those businesses lined the walls.

You're thinking of Price Buster Foods. The grocery store changed hands over the years and in the 1990s, Rice Food Markets bought the location and turned it into a Price Buster. It was a no-frills grocery store that had a yellow and black color scheme. Rice opened several Price Buster Foods locations around town in the early 1990s but closed them all about 10 years later. Today, the company just has their handful of Rice Epicurean stores remaining from the dozens of stores they once had.

TV ARK is a British website that covers the history of UK and international television primarily via old clips. It's worth a visit if you are interested in television history. Anyways, I was looking at the US section and I found this gem. It's a promo from KHOU circa 1981 literally singing the glories of its then-anchor, Amanda Arnold. You do not see ads like this anymore. (Then again, there was KIAH's "Meet me at 9" ad campaign...) It's found here: http://www2.tv-ark.org.uk/International/usa/khou.html Click on the arrow next to "Newscenter 11 Promo"-the direct link didn't work.

I'm not positive, but I strongly doubt it. AppleTree came into existence saddled with debt and was constantly closing or selling stores. They also never remodeled the old Safeways as far as I know. They just changed the signs. Speaking of signs, you sometimes see the distinctive hexagon-shaped sign still standing over streets in the greater Houston area. I get a twinge of nostalgia whenever I see one. My family shopped at Safeway all the time and I still vividly recall my local store.

Some clarifications to a previous post: -The Safeway/AppleTree on SH 249 at Champion Forest (now Bammel N Houston) was bought by Kroger, who had a store across the street. They kept the old AppleTree open for a few months before shutting it down and sitting on the property. It's now a thrift store and a Family Dollar. -The Safeway/AppleTree at N. Houston-Rosslyn and W. Gulf Bank was acquired by Gerland's. They shut it down quickly and soon sold it to an industrial company. -There was a Safeway at Antoine and Pinemont. I don't recall it ever being an AppleTree. My mom said it was a dump and that the good clientele shopped at the Kroger across the street. It has been divided into a Payless ShoeSource, a laundromat and something else. -There was a Safeway/AppleTree on SH 249 at Louetta. It was an HEB Pantry before sitting vacant for some time. It's now a SteinMart. -The Safeway/AppleTree in Tomball was located at SH 249 at FM 2920. Academy took over the building and HEB built a Pantry store in front of the Academy. Later, Academy closed and HEB took over the building (they may have torn the old one down). The old Pantry was demolished. -There was a Safeway at Jones Rd at FM 1960 in the Steeplechase shopping center. I don't recall it ever being an AppleTree. It's now either a Palais Royal or a 99 cent store. Those stores have changed over the years. -The Safeway/AppleTree on N. Gessner at Hammerly is now a Kroger. The building was built in a diamond pattern and is quite disorienting. -The Safeway/AppleTree on I-10 at Echo Lane is now a Kroger. -Finally, there was a Safeway/AppleTree at 290 at West Little York. I worked there when it was a Kroger for several years. Many of my coworkers were Safeway veterans and we found old AppleTree signage when we were cleaning the store out when it closed in 2005.