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Main Food Store At 1101 Main St.


eelimon

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This store is still standing and apparently the beautiful facade is preserved under a covering that was added in the late 70's to look modern. It is off Main St and Lamar St next to the old Sakowitz Flagship store on Main and Dallas. What can we do to have the current owner clear the ugly modern facade, and uncover the ornate facade that stands under it? There is a display currently in the windows of the parking garage that was once Sakowitz. I know that the Wolfe Co. is redeveloping the Sakowitz building for retail. It would be cool if the old facade is revealed on the building next door to it. Once home to Main Food Mart and Rouse Drugs.

Does any one know if a redevelopment or renovation of this property in the works? It would be great for the buildings fa

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This store is still standing and apparently the beautiful facade is preserved under a covering that was added in the late 70's to look modern.  It is off Main St and Lamar St next to the old Sakowitz Flagship store on Main and Dallas.  What can we do to have the current owner clear the ugly modern facade, and uncover the ornate facade that stands under it?  There is a display currently in the windows of the parking garage that was once Sakowitz.  I know that the Wolfe Co. is redeveloping the Sakowitz building for retail.  It would be cool if the old facade is revealed on the building next door to it.

Does any one know if a redevelopment or renovation of this property in the works? It would be great for the buildings fa

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A while back a rendering of the building with the facade removed and a rooftop cafe was circulated, I think with the idea of getting the owner to spring for rehabilitation. At the time a restaurant was supposed to open in the building, and construction got along some, but it seems to have died out. The original facade is still intact. It's a shame the owner doesn't remove it, but I have no idea how to make it happen.

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Yikes! What an ugly building.

Are there any pics without the facade?

I spent Sunday morning driving around downtown, appreciating old buildings, then some time Sunday eve looking up stuff on HCAD, thanks to sevfiv.

There is a picture on display at the one of the windows of the old sakowitz department store nearest to this building.

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  • 9 months later...

A few days ago I noticed that at the Main Food Mart and $ Store (I think that's the name)--it's the southernmost of the few convenience stores on Main--part of it's '60s era facade was missing.

The best part about it is that it looked to reveal a great old facade. Are my eyes playing tricks on me? I hope not, because it looked to be very nice from the glimpse that I got. Anyone know about the history of the bldg?

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Guys, I hate to say this, but that square of 60's facade has been missing since the Super Bowl. The owner was quoted as saying that he wanted to restore the exterior and put a French cafe up on top (there's a thread around here with a photo). NOTHING has been done on this since this was announced over 2 years ago.

Please, someone tell me that I'm wrong...

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is that the little square above the D on the main street side? I just walked past (that place stinks almost as bad on the outside as the inside!! WHO eats that chicken???)

the ornamental concrete is indeed back there...I wonder what shape it is in...

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Guys, I hate to say this, but that square of 60's facade has been missing since the Super Bowl. The owner was quoted as saying that he wanted to restore the exterior and put a French cafe up on top (there's a thread around here with a photo). NOTHING has been done on this since this was announced over 2 years ago.

Please, someone tell me that I'm wrong...

Maybe it was--but I just noticed it.+

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Guest danax
WOW! One of those ornamental squares can now be seen because of the little piece of facade missing. That building is beautiful!!! We can only hope to see this beauty restored very very soon!

I too had no idea. Let's hope it's in salvageable shape and that someone decides to restore it.

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is that the little square above the D on the main street side? I just walked past (that place stinks almost as bad on the outside as the inside!! WHO eats that chicken???)

the ornamental concrete is indeed back there...I wonder what shape it is in...

Now is this the one across the street fom Foley's ? If it is....this place has diffinately changed. I ate the chicken there once back in the 80s the problem with the chicken now is that it's probably the same chicken

post 100!

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Now is this the one across the street fom Foley's ? If it is....this place has diffinately changed. I ate the chicken there once back in the 80s the problem with the chicken now is that it's probably the same chicken

post 100!

yes...it's the same one...same chicken...

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The fact that the owner does not just pull the rest of it off, when a whole nice facade is just sitting right there ready to go, says a lot about the clientele downtown and what its demands are.

I understand but much of the clientele are newer than me :P and never saw what's really under there.

EverittBuelow.jpg

My mom's wedding dress came from there, BTW.

B)

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Guys, I hate to say this, but that square of 60's facade has been missing since the Super Bowl. The owner was quoted as saying that he wanted to restore the exterior and put a French cafe up on top (there's a thread around here with a photo). NOTHING has been done on this since this was announced over 2 years ago.

Please, someone tell me that I'm wrong...

I remember that: I guess it was about 2 or 3 years ago that we had some thread here about a french cafe being planned. I even walked in the store several times just to talk to the clerks..and they too thought that the cafe was a "go". Well, as MLS1202 said, it never happend. But, if Pavillions happens, and it brings the amount of people that it hopefully will, then maybe the store will attempt a cafe again. I would love to see that building come back to life.

MLS1202, are you still out of the country?

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I remember that: I guess it was about 2 or 3 years ago that we had some thread here about a french cafe being planned. I even walked in the store several times just to talk to the clerks..and they too thought that the cafe was a "go". Well, as MLS1202 said, it never happend. But, if Pavillions happens, and it brings the amount of people that it hopefully will, then maybe the store will attempt a cafe again. I would love to see that building come back to life.

MLS1202, are you still out of the country?

Yep. My wife and I are living in Tyumen, Russia (Siberia). Maybe I'll start a thread with some pictures of life over here.

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I remember that: I guess it was about 2 or 3 years ago that we had some thread here about a french cafe being planned. I even walked in the store several times just to talk to the clerks..and they too thought that the cafe was a "go". Well, as MLS1202 said, it never happend. But, if Pavillions happens, and it brings the amount of people that it hopefully will, then maybe the store will attempt a cafe again. I would love to see that building come back to life.

MLS1202, are you still out of the country?

You ever notice how almost every time a truly great project is proposed that everyone on here can agree on (which is itself a minor miracle), it almost invariably "never happens," whereas whenever something detestably ugly and sprawl inducing is proposed, like _____ (fill in blank) master planned community or ____ CVS store... it happens?

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I remember that: I guess it was about 2 or 3 years ago that we had some thread here about a french cafe being planned. I even walked in the store several times just to talk to the clerks..and they too thought that the cafe was a "go". Well, as MLS1202 said, it never happend. But, if Pavillions happens, and it brings the amount of people that it hopefully will, then maybe the store will attempt a cafe again. I would love to see that building come back to life.

You know, I looked for that thread and couldn't find it, so it must have been in the old HAIF. There was a rendering of the place with the facade removed. In addition to the French restaurant, there was an open cafe area on the roof with a little tiki bar, and a giant mural on the adjacent wall. They got as far as interior structural work for the restaurant, but then it stopped and nothing ever came of it. :(

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You know, I looked for that thread and couldn't find it, so it must have been in the old HAIF. There was a rendering of the place with the facade removed. In addition to the French restaurant, there was an open cafe area on the roof with a little tiki bar, and a giant mural on the adjacent wall. They got as far as interior structural work for the restaurant, but then it stopped and nothing ever came of it. :(

It's a shame, b/c a restaurant there would make a lot of sense. It's at the busiest METRORail station in downtown (maybe the busiest outside TMC), it's right across from Foley's, and it's right at Main Street Square. You would have a great view of the fountains at Main Street Square from the rooftop portion as well. I would imagine that even the lunchtime traffic would be enough to justify it. Then again, I'm not a businessman either. Hopefully this will still happen sometime in the near (2-3 years) future.

Edited by GovernorAggie
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  • 2 weeks later...
Yikes! What an ugly building.

Are there any pics without the facade?

I spent Sunday morning driving around downtown, appreciating old buildings, then some time Sunday eve looking up stuff on HCAD, thanks to sevfiv.

Was this one of those old drug stores that had a soda fountain where you could eat a hot dog and drink a root beer float?

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