Highland Village Shopping Center At 4055 Westheimer Rd.

[heights_yankee]

They tried to tap into the R.O. market.

By moving closer to 610? If they wanted to do that they should have moved to W Gray...

[MidtownCoog]

By moving closer to 610?

It's on Midlane which runs which is a zip and a zag into the heart of River Oaks. The Real River Oaks.

Not the faux-River Oaks near Chuy's with the small houses.

Parking lot elevators, I have never heard of such a thing.

Go see for yourself. I used to park in one of these on Canal St. in New Orleans. And they only had about 10 of these.

[Pumapayam]

They are treading the 40-50% mark now, just FYI if anyone really like the crystal knick knacks they offer.

They still have the sign, "final days". I assume Christmas Eve is the last day.

[VicMan]

It's on Midlane which runs which is a zip and a zag into the heart of River Oaks. The Real River Oaks.

Not the faux-River Oaks near Chuy's with the small houses.

Mid Lane runs through Afton Oaks...

River Oaks is roughly bordered by the train tracks, Westheimer, the Buffalo Bayou, and Shepherd.

[Houstoninmyheart]

After getting kicked out of their old spot where HEB Central Market is, Surprises just could not keep up with the Walmarts and Targets for gift ideas in their trendy custom built store.

I saw a "Going out of Business" sign with a starting discount of 20%, which I am sure will excalate as we get closer to Christmas.

If you plan and returning anything, now is the time, but you may already have a difficult time since the store already announced it's closing.

The main website page is down, but you can cheat with the cache and then search the site from there.

FYI, Surprises is going out of business because of the owner's health. There is talk of someone purchasing the company.

There is a furniture store going in there.

[Pumapayam]

Just FYI to add to the above post, Surprises is having it's last day of operation this Saturday, January 6th. Everything is 50%-70% off.

Just a little background info, the store is not closing based on perfromance but rather two things.

1. The owners have personal health issues they want to deal with as mentioned above, which will take about a month I am assuming from the conversation I had with them.
   
2. The owners are going to start a new business venture in late February 2007
   

The location of the current store going out will be used for this new company and it will be a furniture store called BOLD Concepts.

The old name Surprises used to market gifts it is up for sale.

Just a bit of closure on this topic.

It is nice to see that small business is still around.

Edited January 4, 2007 by Pumapayam

[TheNiche]

Just a little background info, the store is not closing based on perfromance but rather two things.

1. The owners have personal health issues they want to deal with as mentioned above, which will take about a month I am assuming from the conversation I had with them.
   
2. The owners are going to start a new business venture in late February 2007
   

The location of the current store going out will be used for this new company and it will be a furniture store called BOLD Concepts.

The old name Surprises used to market gifts it is up for sale.

This sounds like BS. If the personal health issues were only going to last a month, they'd hire a staff to run things while they were away. It'd be MUCH cheaper than liquidating the business and starting all over in a month. There's something else motivating them, and I don't know what it is, but health issues alone aren't it.

[Pumapayam]

This sounds like BS. If the personal health issues were only going to last a month, they'd hire a staff to run things while they were away. It'd be MUCH cheaper than liquidating the business and starting all over in a month. There's something else motivating them, and I don't know what it is, but health issues alone aren't it.

A new business venture is definately the primary catalyst I agree, but having over a month to recuperate after some surgery, (or whatever it is) sounds about right too.

[dsngr_girl]

I think is actually going to be Bo Concepts not BOLD Concepts going in there. If you dont know that company you can check them and their furniture out at www.boconcept.us

[HoustonMidtown]

I think is actually going to be Bo Concepts not BOLD Concepts going in there. If you dont know that company you can check them and their furniture out at www.boconcept.us

You are correct....

[Pumapayam]

I think is actually going to be Bo Concepts not BOLD Concepts going in there. If you dont know that company you can check them and their furniture out at www.boconcept.us

Really, too funny, I must have heard her wrong. But I still like what I heard better, Bo Concepts sounds cheesy, Bold Concepts sounds contemporary sheek!

Update, just went to the website and they have the store franchise location already there.

[url="http://www.boconcept.us/BoConcept

[paulie9798]

BoConcept returns to H-Town after many years...they used to have a franchise in Town & Country area.

This is an international contemporary furniture company based in europe. Their product is somewhere in between IKEA (cheap) and Design Within Reach (outrageous)...like West Elm, their product is over-priced.

Nevertheless, I am happy to see that another well-known furniture chain has come to the Houston market. Their product is definitely nice to look at, and gives Houston shoppers another option.

Now only if 'Room & Board' will also join our little 'furniture district'.

[Rweil]

Actually, this is not BS. I know the owners very well, and the wife is very ill and has been ill for sometime. Her Dr. told her that she must take it easy and have surgery, and her husband will run the new BoConcept franchise. He is the one who wanted to try something more of his interests, as hers was the concept for Surprises. Surprises was highly successful, as was their first venture in Dallas, "Confetti", which she sold to her partner when she and her husband wanted to return to their hometown of Houston in the mid 90's, at which time they opened Surprises in the current "Waterworks" location in Highland Village.

So, we all benefit. Houston gets a new store with a great new concept, and Leora gets the medical attention that she has put off for too long.

[Pumapayam]

So, we all benefit. Houston gets a new store with a great new concept, and Leora gets the medical attention that she has put off for too long.

I appreciate the inside information, it does seem like they both will be happier this way, and I ma glad she is getting the medical attention she needs.

[jim1126]

Ordinarily something like this would be of minor interest to me, but when I saw that the Gap had closed its Highland Village store, I was overcome with curiosity as to what will move into that piece of prime retail space. There's a Variance Request sign up, which leads me to believe the space may be converted into a restaurant. Anyone have any scoop?

[icanluv2]

Ordinarily something like this would be of minor interest to me, but when I saw that the Gap had closed its Highland Village store, I was overcome with curiosity as to what will move into that piece of prime retail space. There's a Variance Request sign up, which leads me to believe the space may be converted into a restaurant. Anyone have any scoop?

They might as well add a Pei-Wei to complement its sister PF Changs.

[bachanon]

i've read recently that gap is having problems corporately. fourth and towne stores, a new gap concept, are closing. the article i read said that the/a recent ceo hasn't helped to keep their concepts fresh and profits are down.

4th quarter gap profits down 35%.

[texas911]

I can tell you what's wrong with the gap, they've totally alienated anyone who's older than 20 years old. Most of their cloths are too funky for us older guys that made gap what it is today. I haven't bought a pair of jeans from gap in almost 5 years, and I used to buy all my jeans from them. Even their "regular" cloths are funky.

[icanluv2]

I was driving on Westheimer towards Highland Village and noticed this furniture place called BoConcepts. It looked pretty nice as i passed by. Anyone been inside? How about prices? Thanks.

[Pumapayam]

I was driving on Westheimer towards Highland Village and noticed this furniture place called BoConcepts. It looked pretty nice as i passed by. Anyone been inside? How about prices? Thanks.

Dare I say MERGE?

I will leave that up to the judges.

[Houston19514]

I was driving on Westheimer towards Highland Village and noticed this furniture place called BoConcepts. It looked pretty nice as i passed by. Anyone been inside? How about prices? Thanks.

I was in their store in Georgetown (Washington DC, not Texas) about 1 1/2 years ago. Very cool stuff. Modern. I remember the prices being pretty moderate. (At least they were reasonable enough that I accepted their offer of a catalog to take home with me.)

[travelguy_73]

BoConcept isn't new to Houston. A number of years ago they had a store at Town and Country, which closed (I think) in 2001. I always thought their previous location was ill-placed. Highland Village should prove to be the right move.

I have a sofa and bed from the old store and they have held up very well. They have a nice selection of modern furniture!

[Guest danax]

Tidbit below from the HBJ article (subscribers only).

'Mattress Mack' takes aim at River Oaks with Kreiss dealHouston Business Journal - by Allison Wollam Houston Business Journal

Gallery Furniture is moving into the high-end furniture market.

The high-volume retailer, owned by Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale, has acquired the ritzy, 8,000-square-foot Kreiss Showroom in the Highland Village shopping center on Westheimer. It also will open a 10,000-square-foot Kreiss gallery inside its main store at 6006 North Freeway on Nov. 15.

The company also is debuting a new line of luxury king-size mattresses that will sell for nearly $60,000.

McIngvale says Gallery Furniture plans to bring the same "veracity and velocity" to high-end furniture that it brings to midpriced and promotional furniture.

awollam@bizjournals.com

[musicman]

let's just hope he doesn't have a stray lion maul a kid again.

[VicMan]

let's just hope he doesn't have a stray lion maul a kid again.

Wait, did that really happen? I've never heard about that before.

[musicman]

Wait, did that really happen? I've never heard about that before.

yeah he had a lion out front (of his flea market back then) as a little stunt to gain customers, and well it somehow got the girl and tore off part of her skull. there was a lawsuit over that one. probably 20 yrs ago or so.

[VicMan]

Lemme look it up and see if I can get a juicy story...

EDIT: I found "The chained lion at the Texas Flea Market had previously mauled a set of 2-year-old twins and was severely underfed when it penetrated an 8-year-old girl's skull with its fangs in 1987." at http://www.tpj.org/page_view.jsp?pageid=79&pubid=22 - Now I'm looking for the story on the Chronicle...

EDIT: here's more from the Chron: http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1989_593993

" Gary Durkovitz, 35, styled himself as "the beastmaster" because he owned a scraggly, malnourished lion that he displayed publicly. Back in the fall of 1987, that lion had seized and severely injured an 8-year-old girl at a Houston flea market. The lion was shot during the attack, then later destroyed by a fatal injection.

Because of the publicity surrounding his case, Durkovitz's trial on a charge of injury to a child was moved to San Antonio. A jury there in April convicted him and gave him 10 years probation and a $5,000 fine. A month later back in Houston, he pleaded guilty in an unrelated child molestation case and got five years in prison.

Houston furniture king Jim "Mac" McIngvale was a principal owner of the now defunct flea market where the attack occurred. He pleaded no contest to injuring a child. As punishment, District Judge Ted Poe ordered the businessman, best known for his furniture commercials on television, to make a series of commercials on the subject of child abuse. "

EDIT: 8-year old Roxanne Hernandez was the victim - It seems like she survived the incident: http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1988_545397

Edited November 8, 2007 by VicMan

[KimberlySayWhat]

Now that I think about it, it's hard to believe that he's just now branching out.

[stan the man]

Houston furniture king Jim "Mac" McIngvale was a principal owner of the now defunct flea market where the attack occurred. He pleaded no contest to injuring a child. As punishment, District Judge Ted Poe ordered the businessman, best known for his furniture commercials on television, to make a series of commercials on the subject of child abuse. "

This doesn't surprise me about the sentence. Creative sentences such as making commercials on child abuse was Ted Poe's trademark.

BTW, time will tell if Mattress Mac's high-end concept is working wonders. Any good business?

Edited November 9, 2007 by stan the man

[crunchtastic]

Mac's the first pure retail outlet in town for both Kreiss and Hastens, I think. I suspect he'll do well, if he's eliminating an expensive middleman for aspirational buyers looking for only a piece or two.