What Store Was At 6201 Bissonnet St.

[SpaceGhost]

So anyone know what store was at 6201 Bissonnet? It's now Energized for Excellence Academy (some sort of school).

 

Streetview

 

Also there are two building at the now consolidated address. One was an obvious supermarket, the other looks to have been some sort of retail establishment although I can't really identify it. If anyone knows about the other building please feel free to add in!

[brucesw]

Deleted in favor of following post.

[brucesw]

Homer's (home improvement/hardware) occupied the 'supermarket' space - succumbed to Builder's Square and Home Depot.  That's even the Homer's sign. The building was vacant for a long time.

 

A discount store tried to make a go in the building to the right .  I seem to recall it had 'elephant' in the name or something, ran some of the stupidest TV ads I've ever seen, lasted only a short time.  I'm not sure if that was a new building but I think it was.

 

I don't recall which for sure which building was turned into the academy first but I think it was the discount store.  I don't go by there as much as I used to.

 

Edited to correct earlier posting that the discount store occupied the Homer's building.

[IronTiger]

An "In Brief" indicates that Kroger once occupied the space.

 

Leases 

Sublessee: Big 10 Productions. 

Sublessor: The Kroger Co. 

Description: 30,979 square feet. 

Location: 6201 Bissonnet . 

Representative: Culver G. Stedman of Boyd, Page & Associates for both parties.

 

This was accessed through the Houston Chronicle website via Houston Library (if you don't have a library card I highly recommend it--I got mine free through a mail-order registration). Tons of great stuff on old addresses, and has helped me immensely in 290 corridor business history--like how Gold Cup was a fancy steakhouse once, and the 24 Hour Fitness nearby was a Handy Dan hardware. HCAD may also help in former ownership, too.

[sevfiv]

The closest I can get is 1976 (looks like one was built 1970, the other 1975, or thereabouts). 

 

6107 was Homer's (already mentioned, the large building closest to Rampart)

6243 was Bissonnet Pharmacy / Reproductive Services

6247 was Film n Photos, Inc.

 

There was also a Whataburger at 6235 (probably a pad site out front, near the current auto insurance place)

 

[foxmulder]

Can you post a direct link to that? I'd love to check it out.

An "In Brief" indicates that Kroger once occupied the space.

 

 

 

This was accessed through the Houston Chronicle website via Houston Library (if you don't have a library card I highly recommend it--I got mine free through a mail-order registration). Tons of great stuff on old addresses, and has helped me immensely in 290 corridor business history--like how Gold Cup was a fancy steakhouse once, and the 24 Hour Fitness nearby was a Handy Dan hardware. HCAD may also help in former ownership, too.

 

[SpaceGhost]

An "In Brief" indicates that Kroger once occupied the space.

 

 

 

This was accessed through the Houston Chronicle website via Houston Library (if you don't have a library card I highly recommend it--I got mine free through a mail-order registration). Tons of great stuff on old addresses, and has helped me immensely in 290 corridor business history--like how Gold Cup was a fancy steakhouse once, and the 24 Hour Fitness nearby was a Handy Dan hardware. HCAD may also help in former ownership, too.

 

Yeah I'm going to renew my library card today. I never knew about Gold Cup though! I work off of 290 and that place is a constant joke when we're going to lunch.

[SpaceGhost]

The closest I can get is 1976 (looks like one was built 1970, the other 1975, or thereabouts). 

 

6107 was Homer's (already mentioned, the large building closest to Rampart)

6243 was Bissonnet Pharmacy / Reproductive Services

6247 was Film n Photos, Inc.

 

There was also a Whataburger at 6235 (probably a pad site out front, near the current auto insurance place)

 

I remember that Whataburger! It was actually up a bit right at the intersection of Hillcroft and Bissonnet. It was replaced by a strip center.

[brucesw]

The Homer's building looks bigger to me now; it may have been added on to.  I do not ever remember a Kroger along there but I didn't start driving that section of Bissonnet very regularly until the early 80s.  I remember the pharmacy.  Directly across the street was Hillcroft Pharmacy and at one time in the 70s I understood they  were the only 2 pharmacies in the whole city open 24 hours a day.  Both had drive-thru windows for after hours.  I stopped at that Whataburger sometimes on the way home from bars; I think there was a bad crime incident there and it closed down a few months later if I'm remembering correctly.

 

The academy building on the right of Homer's would have had a rather irregular and small parking lot for any sort of retail establishment (I think the Homer's lot was separate, not continuous).

 

I wonder what the Salvation Army Thrift Store across the street was?  Looks like it had an area for loading docks on the right side.  I can't remember anything other than the Salvation Army store.

 

There is a Value Village on the corner next to the SA, so a discount store of sorts lives on in the neighborhood.

[readam]

The Salvation Army store was Sacco's Grocery Store.  Further East on Bissonnet, back toward Renwick was an Eagle grocery on the south side of Bissonnet and between Renwick and Chimney Rock on the North side of Bissonnet was a JMH store.

[SpaceGhost]

Does anyone have any info on Homer's?

 

It's really hard to find stuff online because searching brings back info mainly on the Home Depot character named Homer. The few bits I've found seem to indicate that the chain operated mainly outside of Houston. Like this article on blue laws.