IronTiger Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/1344-Yale-St-Houston-TX/9071926/ Anyone know what's up with this building? It's clearly been abandoned for years, and the build date is unknown (HCAD says 1930, Loopnet says 1950). It seems like it might have been a small grocery store at one time, and it's been in the hands of Jerry Court (d/b/a "City Wide Gourmet Foods" apparently) for the last 30 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted March 3, 2018 Author Share Posted March 3, 2018 Update: the 1984 directory lists this as Heights Bakery. Wonder when it closed up permanently and abandoned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobruss Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 I don't know but that is one ugly surface. Is there brick underneath? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted March 3, 2018 Author Share Posted March 3, 2018 4 hours ago, bobruss said: I don't know but that is one ugly surface. Is there brick underneath? Yeah, look at the picture with the truck doors. The stucco probably can't be saved even if it was pressure washed and painted, plus being overtaken by vines is highly damaging to brick (given age of masonry and excessive humidity) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobruss Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 4 hours ago, IronTiger said: Yeah, look at the picture with the truck doors. The stucco probably can't be saved even if it was pressure washed and painted, plus being overtaken by vines is highly damaging to brick (given age of masonry and excessive humidity) I'm curious what that strange seemingly 3 dimensional object is hanging on the side of the building just below the vines about midway. It appears to be something that has sloughed off the plywood that probably covers a window. I find that six foot section of the wall very appealing as a work of art. That shape and color juxtaposed against the green vines is a very interesting image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 This was a bakery long ago, but was being used as a warehouse up until about two years ago. The owner cleaned it out and was supposedly going to lease it to a couple from Round Top who were going to open a cafe and antique shop. Someone put in new windows, but then everything stopped and nothing happened for over a year. A few months ago a new "for lease" sign went up. People who inquired with the owner did not get much of a response. General impression was that the owner was not very motivated to do anything with the property. There has been a little activity recently, but it looks like they are just using part of the property to store stuff. So, this property and the Happy All Cafe remain enigmas of underdeveloped Heights commercial property. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heightsfamily Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 i have always wanted to know the story on Happy All! Horrible food, no customers and a prime piece of property. Any one know the back story? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Developer Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 hey now. the peking duck at happy all is decent... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 Vague rumors about a new restaurant or wine bar going in to this space. There is actual exterior demo work going on right now to strip away the old exterior presumably to renovate for a new venture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcook2002 Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 7 hours ago, s3mh said: Vague rumors about a new restaurant or wine bar going in to this space. There is actual exterior demo work going on right now to strip away the old exterior presumably to renovate for a new venture. Interesting, though it seemed like it was only a matter of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted May 19, 2018 Author Share Posted May 19, 2018 Passed by it last night. No photos and it was a bit hard to see, but the old moldy surface is gone, along with the two light fixtures, revealing an old-fashioned brick building underneath. Maybe I can get some pictures sometime... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Developer Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 they have stripped about half of the stucco off by yesterday when i drove by...curious about what is going on here as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avossos Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 40 minutes ago, Evil Developer said: they have stripped about half of the stucco off by yesterday when i drove by...curious about what is going on here as well! How does it look without the stucco? Is it nice brick? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 41 minutes ago, Avossos said: How does it look without the stucco? Is it nice brick? No. Just cinder block. They are slapping on some stucco-ish stuff over it. It looks pretty slap dash. The name on the permit is the property owner, not a new lessee. An the permit is just for exterior demo and knocking out an interior wall. I really doubt the property owner would be doing this just to make the property more marketable for a prospective lessee because it has been sitting there for over a decade without any work done other than putting in new windows about two years ago. I guess we will just have to wait and see how this one plays out. At least something is happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted May 23, 2018 Author Share Posted May 23, 2018 I took a picture today. The original brick was still visible at the door side, but the wall facing Yale has been re-surfaced with stucco. It also looks like they may have added new windows again, but that could just be masking. For what it's worth, the original brick wasn't that good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 11 hours ago, IronTiger said: I took a picture today. The original brick was still visible at the door side, but the wall facing Yale has been re-surfaced with stucco. It also looks like they may have added new windows again, but that could just be masking. For what it's worth, the original brick wasn't that good. The windows were put in about two years ago when it was rumored that a couple from Round Top were going to open some sort of cafe and antique shop. At that time, a whole bunch of junk got cleared out of the interior. The work they are doing right now looks terrible. They are just slopping on some sort of cheap stucco without adequately preparing the surface below. Hopefully, this is just preparation to put some sort of siding over it, like the corrugated metal that all the repurposed strip centers have. But so far, I am not optimistic about the progress being made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 The property is no longer listed on the market according to Loopnet, and the pictures are gone (I saved them though). Yesterday, I drove by to find a huge part of the outside wall (facing Yale) was removed and covered in plywood, so maybe something WILL happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 Thanks. However, they did appear to be on Loopnet's servers from what I saw. From another look at the original, it looks like the "cut-out" area may have been open initially then bricked in later with a door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted June 17, 2018 Author Share Posted June 17, 2018 They're doing something weird with the stuccoing, either restoring the brick texture or doing something else to it...I don't have a picture to share because HAIF doesn't have a lot of space to store pictures... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcook2002 Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Looks like we have our answer. https://houston.eater.com/2018/6/18/17474746/la-grand-rue-wine-bar-houston-heights-opening-fall-2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted September 6, 2018 Author Share Posted September 6, 2018 Windows have been added on the Yale side and are now visible, this was boarded-up in the pre-renovation and stucco'd over. It looks like it may have been a garage door at one time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted September 7, 2018 Share Posted September 7, 2018 9 hours ago, CrockpotandGravel said: I saw! I'm happy to see this building undergo rehabbing and not torn down. It's a beautiful building with potential. Not a beautiful building at all. Typical for its time, no real redeeming features. Plain box with on angle on one corner. Great it's not being torn down to be replaced with a similar new building, but it's not special at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmac Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 Need to check those spectacles, sir/ma'am. That's a very plain and ugly building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmac Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 And you know what they say about opinions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasota Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 I will add that, while I've never found this building beautiful, per se, I've always found it interesting, and I've always liked it. I'm glad they're keeping it - I look forward to seeing how it turns out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 Oh, that balsamic duck looks good. This does seem to be much more of a full service restaurant and less of the original wine retailer/tasting room with a few tables for patrons to drink wine and have small plates. I wonder whether they will be leasing parking from the Chinese restaurant across the street? There is no way they will meet their parking minimums with the parking on site if there is a full service dinning room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angostura Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 Places that start out as retail and restaurant under the same roof pretty much always migrate to more restaurant and less retail as time passes. W/r/t parking, if this results in more people using the (yes, legal) street parking along Yale and 14th, thus slowing the traffic on those two streets, it'll be a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Savoir and La Grande Rue held a sneak peak event last Saturday and briefly took down the plastic covering all the windows. it is really weird seeing some life inside that building. No word on an official opening, but the interior looks ready to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 Has the large three-point sign (that must have rusted off years ago) been replaced or repainted yet? I haven't driven down that way in several weeks so I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 4 hours ago, IronTiger said: Has the large three-point sign (that must have rusted off years ago) been replaced or repainted yet? I haven't driven down that way in several weeks so I don't know. The put up a temporary sign on it saying that La Grande Rue and Savoir are coming soon. I have not seen much activity since the event they had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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