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Randall's/Fiesta Supermarkets History


Ashikaga

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Someone mentioned that Fiesta is now where a Globe Department Store used to be. Are Fiesta and Randall's mostly in Houston only? Over here, back in the 1980s when the old K-Mart store in Beaumont closed down, they opened a Fiesta in it, but it didn't last too long. I guess that there was no demand for Fiesta over here. There are no Randall's in this area, either. I guess there's a demand for those two stores only in Houston.

As far as grocery stores go, over here there's a local chain called "Market Basket."

All of the others are part of national chains. There's Kroger in Beaumont and in Orange. H.E.B. is in Beaumont, Orange, Port Arthur, Groves, Lumberton. But in reality the Wal-Mart Supercenters over here sell the most food. There's one in Orange, one in Beaumont, one in Lumberton, two in Port Arthur.

Are there any Wal-Mart Supercenters over there in Houston? If there are, are they just as popular as Fiesta and Randall's are?

Chet Cuccia

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there seem to be fiesta's and randall's all over texas (at least austin, dfw, san antonio...).

super wal-marts are defintely here in houston

they are pretty popular it seems (but not with me)

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Well I know Randalls is in other cities, I would have to check for Fiesta.

EDIT: I guess I only saw your first paragraph, but sefviv answered your other questions, I don't know if Walmart is popular for groceries, but that is because I never shop there.

Oh and Fiesta is only in Texas; in Houston, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Austin, Waco

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Well I know Randalls is in other cities, I would have to check for Fiesta.

EDIT: I guess I only saw your first paragraph, but sefviv answered your other questions, I don't know if Walmart is popular for groceries, but that is because I never shop there.

Oh and Fiesta is only in Texas; in Houston,  Dallas/Ft. Worth, Austin, Waco

From what I've learned, concering food sales, Wal-Mart Supercenters are the only real competition for H.E.B. Pantry, which, I heard, is mostly if not only in Texas.

Chet Cuccia

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Wal-Mart Supercenters may be OK for canned goods, etc.

But I would not feed their meat or produce to Bigfoot.

Yes, I see your point. But I buy only canned and other non-perishable foods. I live alone. Believe it or not, I buy most of my "groceries" at Dollar General.

I buy canned meat, such at beef stew, sliced roast beef, etc.

Chet Cuccia

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Yes, I see your point.  But I buy only canned and other non-perishable foods.  I live alone.  Believe it or not, I buy most of my "groceries" at Dollar General.

I buy canned meat, such at beef stew, sliced roast beef, etc.

Chet Cuccia

Do you have a 99 Cent store out there? Those are the best. I wish we had them in KY.

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Here's an explaination of the Safeway-Randall's connection:

Safeway and Randall's Announce Merger

Pleasanton, CA and Houston, TX, July 23, 1999 – Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) and Randall's Food Markets, Inc. jointly announced today they have signed a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Safeway will acquire Randall's for total consideration of approximately $1.8 billion. Safeway will pay approximately $1.425 billion for the equity of Randall's, using approximately $855 million in cash and approximately 10.9 million shares of Safeway common stock, and will assume or repay approximately $375 million of Randall's debt.

The combined company will operate more than 1,645 stores in 19 states in the U.S. and in Western Canada, with pro forma 1999 estimated annual sales of approximately $30 billion. It will employ more than 183,000 people.

Link to full article

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I thought they were two different stores? (Yes, same company) But don't we have Tom Thumb down here and Randall's as well? Maybe I've just lived in too many cities.

It seems like the same store, just rebranded. The websites look exactly the same, and the logo is relatively similar also. Also when you do a search for tom thumbs in Houston it just shows you all the Randalls.

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There is only one Fiesta left in Austin - on I-35. There was one on SoCo, but it closed. There are stores in Dallas and Fort Worth and possibly one in Waco.

Randall's is - well, I could care less, actually. I detest Randall's and avoid them like the plague.

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Funny thing about Safeway, they have a nasty habit of coming in and buying a highly successful grocery chain in Houston and turning it into... well.... Safeway.

They did the same thing with Weingarten's in the 70s. Turned them all into Safeways which eventually went out of business. They didn't learn their lesson and did the same thing with Randall's now. OK, they're not out of business. YET. But what a difference between what Randall's was -- what made them the best grocery store in the city -- and what Randall's is now.

HEB did phase out the Pantry name in Houston. I think they weren't sure about the Houston market and used those Pantries to get familiar with it. Now the former Pantry stores which are still in business are no longer called Pantry but they're still small stores with little selection. I do shop at one but not as much as I used to as they've raised a lot of their prices.

Wal-Mart Neighborhood store is the newest thing near my house -- it's just a grocery store, no regular walmart merchandise.

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Funny thing about Safeway, they have a nasty habit of coming in and buying a highly successful grocery chain in Houston and turning it into... well.... Safeway.

They did the same thing with Weingarten's in the 70s. Turned them all into Safeways which eventually went out of business. They didn't learn their lesson and did the same thing with Randall's now. OK, they're not out of business. YET. But what a difference between what Randall's was -- what made them the best grocery store in the city -- and what Randall's is now.

HEB did phase out the Pantry name in Houston. I think they weren't sure about the Houston market and used those Pantries to get familiar with it. Now the former Pantry stores which are still in business are no longer called Pantry but they're still small stores with little selection. I do shop at one but not as much as I used to as they've raised a lot of their prices.

Wal-Mart Neighborhood store is the newest thing near my house -- it's just a grocery store, no regular walmart merchandise.

Didn't the Weingartens become "Apple Tree"?

You are right about Safeway. They buy nice stores and make them cheap. I remember when the Randalls on Shepherd and Westheimer was so crowded you couldn't park. Now it is so empty I figure it's just a matter of time before they close. It looks like a discount mart.

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I think HEB is phasing out or has phased out the "Pantry" concept.  That's the case in Houston, at least.  They're concentrating on building bigger stores now.  Even the smaller stores without pharmacies, etc. have dropped the "Pantry" designation.

Not long ago I learned that there was a difference between HEB and HEB Pantry. The former are bigger than the latter. They opened up a big one a little over a year ago in Nederland. There are still many other HEB Pantrys in the surrounding cities over her.

Chet Cuccia

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Didn't the Weingartens become "Apple Tree"? 

You are right about Safeway.  They buy nice stores and make them cheap.  I remember when the Randalls on Shepherd and Westheimer was so crowded you couldn't park.  Now it is so empty I figure it's just a matter of time before they close.  It looks like a discount mart.

Yeah, they became Apple Tree after Safeway couldn't make a go of them and I guess sold out. Then all the Apple Trees closed.

It's the same way with the Randall's on W. Belfort & S. Post Oak -- used to be packed, now it's empty.

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i know some of the apple trees became rice epicurians (by chance maybe)...

and turns out HEB has stores in louisiana and mexico as well...

and on their website, some of the HEB's are still designated as "Pantry Foods"

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Different stores have larger sections that cater to groups other than just Latinos. For instances, the store out on the west side has a rather large section of middle eastern/greek groceries. I would imagine that stores in the southwest have asian foods, as well. Fiesta has become known for carrying numerous non-native foods.

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Different stores have larger sections that cater to groups other than just Latinos.  For instances, the store out on the west side has a rather large section of middle eastern/greek groceries.  I would imagine that stores in the southwest have asian foods, as well.  Fiesta has become known for carrying numerous non-native foods.

By "non-native" do you mean "non-American"?

Chet Cuccia

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By "non-native" do you mean "non-American"?

Chet Cuccia

They tend to have a more global selection of fruits and vegetables than other stores, so at a time when a store may not have something due to season or something Fiesta many times has it.

BTW I shop at Fiesta occasionally, but does it count since I am half Hispanic. :D

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They tend to have a more global selection of fruits and vegetables than other stores, so at a time when a store may not have something due to season or something Fiesta many times has it.

BTW I shop at Fiesta occasionally, but does it count since I am half Hispanic. :D

It depends on what the other half is. :P

Since fruits and vegetables owe no allegiance to countries, I believe "non-native", as in foods not normally grown in this country, is what I meant. As to the shoppers, many may be "non-American", but, many of us shop there for food to cook meals that originated in other countries. The big markets carry Tex-Mex ingredients, for instance, but often times you have to go to Fiesta to get Mexican ingredients. Same applies for greek ingredients. I find it nearly impossible to find grape leaves anywhere but Fiesta.

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