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The Galleria Mall At 5085 Westheimer Rd.


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The menu is still posted!

I liked going there for lunch. I would sit in the bright terrace area, having a glass of wine, and an overpriced, tasty sandwich. With very few people in Galleria 3, it was very peaceful.

I think the problem is that is was designed to be an upscale, douchey sports bar. The non-terrace areas - a large part of their space - were really dark. For soccer moms trying to shove food into their kids, that won't play, even if price is not an issue. Guys who are into sports bars aren't likely to be the Galleria profile. If they do go there, they are already in a dark place, so they don't need to go somewhere darker.

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Their requirements for walk in foot traffic is not present in downtown Houston on a consistent basis.

Do you think this will not happen for another 10 - 20 years?

Is there any reason to think that it will? Progress is not the foregone conclusion a lot of people seem to think it is.

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Is there any reason to think that it will? Progress is not the foregone conclusion a lot of people seem to think it is.

There does not seem to be any reason either way. The way population movement trends have been lately.... it's anyone's guess.

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There does not seem to be any reason either way. The way population movement trends have been lately.... it's anyone's guess.

I think all indications are that downtown will be very much the same as it is now in 20 years. The reasons our downtown has the residential population is does haven't changed much since the interstate system was built. Some kind of major social, political or economic upheaval would be required to change that.

I remember in the 1970s and 80s that I though things would be much different in the future. Really things haven't changed much. I think the biggest change is the rise of the internet.

20-30 years ago people were more hopeful and less cynical. We still believed that engineers and scientists could make our lives better in the 80s. That all changed over the last 20 years. Now people view science and industry as an evil, not a good force. I don't really see the future being much better than today. I think we need to live for today and not assume that the future will be any better.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 3 months later...

I didn't see this mentioned earlier, so I thought I'd note it here. GeekWire says it's confirmed that a Microsoft Store will open at the Galleria. But a date hasn't been pinned down yet: http://www.geekwire.com/2011/microsofts-retail-chain-eleven-stores

I've been to the Microsoft's newest "flagship" store in Bellevue, Washington a few times. The criticism that Microsoft gets most often with these stores is that they are a copy of Apple Stores. I can say that is true. Everything from the signage, to the store design, to the furniture, and how things are laid out is pretty much the same as an Apple Store.

I do, however, get the sense that the Microsoft Stores are more cluttered. That's probably due in large part to the fact that Apple only sells six main products in its stores: Macs, iMacs, MacBooks, iPods, iPads, and iPhones. Software is being pulled from Apple Stores, since it all comes from the App Store now. Printers are coming off the sales floor, and being kept in the back room to remain available on request.

Microsoft, on the other hand, tries to showcase as much of the universe of products that run Microsoft software as possible, including PCs, tablets, laptops, Surface tables, Xbox, Phone 7, etc... etc...

The clutter and chaos that I always had to deal with may have something to do with the fact that the MS store I was in was adjacent to a Microsoft office tower, five blocks from three others, and a 10 minute drive from headquarters.

Still, when I decided I didn't want to pay $35 for a multi-card reader at the mall's photo store, I checked out the Microsoft Store thinking it would have far more accessories than the Apple Store. I went through three of their salespeople before someone finally understood what I was looking for. Everyone else kept trying to sell me a USB thumb drive. In the end, it turned out that the MS Store didn't have multi-card readers at all. I ended up getting one at Bartell's Drugs for $10. I never checked the Apple Store.

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Since most, if not all, MS products are available at any given Best Buy, Fry's, etc. I'm not sure this will add much value. I know Apple's are too, but they have a much smaller and focused product line so it's easy to set up an Apple section at the big box retailers. I'm thinking it's more a marketing ploy to go head-to-head with Apple and Sony at the mall.

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  • 1 month later...

Thank God...the location they moved to in some former kid's clothing store was a depressing excuse for a Disney store...glad they're making this change

I was looking to buy something for my niece so I figured that the Disney store in the Galleria would have it. When I got there I looked around, but couldn't find anything good so I asked "You don't have much, is there a bigger store here?", the people who worked there seemed a little embarrassed, kind of like they had heard it before. "yeah we know"

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Ive always said that the only thing that could save Galleria III is Bloomingdales. Maybe if huge stores for Forever 21, H&M, Uniqlo, Topshop, Mango or Zara would each take space there it would attract more people to walk thru Saks Fifth Avenue. Throw in a restaurant or two and it will be even more inviting. Other malls have the same problem with low foot traffic in hidden/anex sections, the only difference is that theyre not owned by Simon... Who, lets face it should invest more time and money on this billion dollar mall.

The whole section needs to be remodeled to match the rest of the mall. New escalators, an elevator, maybe even a water fountain .. why not?

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I've always thought they should build a new Saks (perhaps 4 story to get the same sq. footage) in the parking lot in front of the current, and then redevelop the "common areas" to have a continuous link to the old Macy's...this way they could charge the same rent (if not more) in the galleria III section as the rest of the mall. I don't think they will ever be able to do that if you require people to walk through the existing Saks to get to that section...it needs to visually connect to the rest of the mall.

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I've always thought they should build a new Saks (perhaps 4 story to get the same sq. footage) in the parking lot in front of the current, and then redevelop the "common areas" to have a continuous link to the old Macy's...this way they could charge the same rent (if not more) in the galleria III section as the rest of the mall. I don't think they will ever be able to do that if you require people to walk through the existing Saks to get to that section...it needs to visually connect to the rest of the mall.

I agree, I would be all for bringing the store fronts to the side walks. A new Saks 5th right alongside the street is perfect, and that area only Westheimer has some amazing trees to compliment some nice sidewalks. The old Border entrance was a waste, since it was only used as an emergency exit.

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