lowspark

It's actually in Meyer Park (not Meyerland). Those are two separate and distinct centers -- the new Target is in Meyerland and that whole center has been revitalized and is wonderful. Meyer Park on the other hand, with the crummy WalMart, has not kept up its initial promise. It has sort of gone downhill a bit. Although they did remodel that Randall's recently, I don't have high hopes for Randall's long term future in Houston. Yeah, I'm not sure how much competition Belden's represents for WalMart -- I think it's a different kind of store. You don't need a card at the HEB or Walmart either -- that's a Randall's/Krogers gimmick. I can't imagine that anyone who would regularly shop at Walmart would switch to regularly doing all their grocery shopping at Belden's. I do go to Belden's occasionally for specific things but in general, their prices are much higher.

wheeeee!!! thanks for fixing!!!

.... and taking you from where you are to where you need to be. I agree -- great ideas editor! I don't see anything wrong with Metro instituting a little self promotion.

I sorta doubt they'll consolidate. The big store in Meyer Park has been there for several years. They just opened the Neighborhood store about a year or two ago, so I'm guessing they did a study to see where the best place for a grocery store would be. In fact, it IS a much better location for a grocery store. Their only competition for the Nbhd store is the HEB (formerly Pantry so very small) at the corner of S. Braeswood & Chimney Rock. That Walmart has pretty much sewed up that area. Whereas if they were to expand the MeyerPark WalMart, they'd be in direct competition with the already existing Randalls & Kroger which are right there at that spot. The only potential threat to the Nbhd store is if any other grocery store were ever to open in the now-defunct location of Albertsons on S. Braeswood & Fondren. But that location has not been successful in the past -- just that one mile between Hillcroft & Fondren represents a great difference in neighborhood, from large single family homes on both sides of Hillcroft, to a slew of apartments along Fondren which have not held up well to the test of time.

I just was on S. Shepherd last night and happened to pass a Restaurant just north of Westheimer called, Red Lion. It was a smaller house-looking building than their old location but still a good size. The sign had that same lion on it as the sign in the picture above. So I'm thinking it's the same restaurant, reopened in a new location. I didn't get more than a quick glance at it as I was driving and had to pay attention to the road!

The Little Red Schoolhouse moved out of Westbury square several years ago and opened in the center on Hillcroft just south of S. Braeswood (Bagel Shop and Wal Mart in that same center). They (LRS) closed up a couple of years ago. I don't remember the name of the steak house. Edit: I found this ad in the newspaper called Jewish Herald-Voice dated July 28, 1988. The advertisement, in text, is as follows: Little Red Schoolhouse and Redbridge School Since 1960 611 Westbury Square Houston Texas 77035 Tel. 723-2877 Pre-School - Elementary School - Middle School * Established for 26 years * Montessori Pre-School & Early Elementary * Enthusiastic, Experienced Teacher * Trips to the symphony and ballet * Strong Academic Program * Traditional 3rd thru 8th grades * Sense of community * Spanish, French, Art, Music, P.E. Fondren S.W./Meyerland/Westbury and from Bellaire to Sugar Land. Edit Number 2: Photos of the building, students, and alumni prior to demolition:

I agree - that walmart is scuzzy. There is already a "Neighborhood WalMart" on Hillcroft just south of S. Braeswood which is the grocery store Walmart only without the regular merchandise. That store does a good business and is (so far) in much better shape than the regular store in Meyer Park. So why would Walmart want to put in groceries at Meyer Park? They'd be competing with themselves by expanding a store which has rapidly gone downhill since it opened. Depending on where you live in Meyerland, that Walmart grocery store is probably almost as close to you as the Meyer Park store. Plus, the new Target, although it's not a super Target, does have a lot of groceries. It looked to me like they pretty much had everything except meat and produce. They had frozen foods, non-perishables and even a partial dairy dept.

oh - whew!! I'm glad it's just a temporary problem and will go back to the old way. It just happened in the middle of the day yesterday, one minute it was one way and the next minute it changed. Thanks in advance for fixing!

It used to be that when you clicked on a topic, you'd see all the posts at once by scrolling down. Now you have to click on each post within a thread -- a lot more trouble to read an entire thread. Just wondering why that changed? I just found this forum recently but love it!

GEMCO! Yup! That's it! I also remember in Sharpstown Mall: Chandler's Shoes Margolis Shoes Adrien's Fashions And old Grocery Stores: Food Giant There was either a Food Giant or Weingarten's in Sharpstown Mall. Food Giant was also somewhere on W. Belfort west of Post Oak, and I think there was one on the corner of N. Braeswood & Chimney Rock which is Belden's now.

There was also one on the West Belt & Beechnut. I also remember Meyer Brothers in Meyerland W Bell What was the name of that store that was on the corner of Fondren & 59 or maybe it was Fondren & Beechnut where you had to belong to their club before you could shop there. Along the lines of Sam's club but it wasn't groceries, just clothes & stuff like that I think. It lasted a few years before going out. There was a Food Lion in Sugar Land on the corner of Eldridge & Jess Pirtle. I think it's Gerlands now but could be wrong about that. There was also one on W. Airport west of Kirkwood that turned into a school or something like that.

I happened to pass by there yesterday and the building is gone. It's just the remnants of the parking lot with some light poles, and a large concrete area that looks like it was the foundation for the building. All of it is overgrown with grass/weeds. So at this point, I'd say it's just another empty lot.

I bet no one else remembers this: There was a restaurant on the corner of W. Belfort & Chimney Rock next to the (then) Weingartens which had little horses on springs arranged in a semi circle for kids to sit on while they ate their burgers. I don't know what else they served or what the name of the place was but I LOVED that place back in the early/mid 60s. Also I remember Bonanza -- they were all over town. There was one on Stella Link just inside the Loop that stayed in business at least till 1980. And speaking of Stella Link inside the loop, remember Alfred's? It was a venerable "Kosher Style" Deli and I believe it stayed in business till Alfred died. His son owns Kahn's Deli in the village.

The Confederate House is now the State Grill. Here's a restaurant review that gives a brief history of the restaurant & name change. Circus was owned by the Pappas family who owns Pappadeaux, Pappasitos, etc. I mentioned this in another thread, but I remember Circus & Strawberry Patch which was further in on Westheimer. They were both very good. Strawberry patch served wonderful blueberry/strawberry muffins and you could get a Flower Pot of Salad which was a large salad in a glass (plastic?) planter shapped bowl with the dressings on the side, to be shared by the whole table. I don't know why the Pappas replaced these two restaurants as I remember them both being pretty busy all the time.

I'm not sure how attractive those anchors were. They certainly weren't enough to lure people over from Foley's at MC. I mean, T&C was (at one time) a brand new three-story mall, with all the newer ameneties, including a parking garage, and Memorial still beat them out. It came down to who had the better anchors I guess, because all the small stores had to be pretty much the same in both malls.

Maybe their previous lack of success was due as much to the format and the offerings as it was their location. I guess they were sort of ahead of their time with their original T&C Village concept in the 60s. Or maybe they just had crummy stores! I think a big part of the reason for the success of the new Village is that they have some stores there which have only a few locations around town. I think I had 'location' in my head because it seemed to me that T&C (especially the mall but even the "village" before the mall) was in direct competition with Memorial City because of their proximity, and it just seemed obvious they'd lose out in that fight. But maybe if T&C can distinguish themselves with unique stores/restaurants which can't be easily found close by, they'll do well with their new development. I really do hope so! I don't like to see dead areas around Houston, and T&C (with the exception you pointed out above) has a history of being just that.

Sorry to keep posting but I keep remembering! A couple of restaurants which were (apparently) huge in other markets but came here and lasted about 5 minutes: Steak N Shake (1977) White Castle Burgers (80s)

OH! And I just remembered, Neil's Ice Cream in the 80s. Man that place was hoppin! Neil was some guy who came here from New York I think. Opened a bunch of ice cream places and did a booming business. Then he sold them all and made a #$@#$load of money. I think he and his brother opened a kiddie amusement center in one of the malls after that but I don't think it lasted very long. After that, he was gone. And, by the way, so were his ice cream shops. I don't remember what happened but shortly after he sold them, they all closed.

Back in the day, it was called Der Weinerschnitzel. There was one on Chimney Rock & W. Belfort. It was an A shaped building and you'd drive through between the legs of the A. There were a few seats outside but no other seating. There was a Del Taco on S. Braeswood just west of Hillcroft that opened brand new around 1979. It lasted a few years and was gone. I also remember Alfie's Fish & Chips, & H. Salt Fish & Chips. ALSO Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips. Fish & Chips just seemed to be all the rage in the 70s, they came in to Houston in force and then most of them went out of business pretty quickly. The Alfie's on Fondren between SW Frwy & Bellaire lasted the longest to my knowledge. I think it lasted into the 90s. Anyone remember Zuider Zee? It was also a fried seafood type of place but it was more of a sit-down-and-order restaurant. Not sure where it was exactly but my faded memory suggests somewhere on 59 near Sharpstown. How about.... --Lumburger or Crumburger (?) on Bellaire -- don't think they lasted too long. They served "burgers" which were really kind of like sloppy Joes if I remember correctly. --Jaime's on the corner of N. Braeswood & Main. They put up a bunch of billboards before they opened. All they said were, Jaime's is coming. Really built up curiosity! Then they opened, served burgers & beans, at least that's what we ate the ONE time we went. Their advertising was enough to get my family to go once & once only. It was probably around 1969 or so. --Wyatt's Cafetaria. There was one in Sharpstown Mall, and one on the corner of W. Belfort and (then) Post Oak (now 610) --Romano Cafeteria (which got taken over by Luby's) --Piccadilly Cafetaria (was that in Northline Mall? I know it was in a mall, just can't remember which one) Can you tell we ate at a lot of cafeterias when I was growing up?

Interesting discussion. I'm just going to throw in my 2 cents. I think the memorial city development is great. I mean, what we had was a ~40 year old mall that looked it, and what we have now is a completely revitalized mall and a future revitalization of the area around it. What's the alternative? Something like Sharpstown which is in dire need of attention but instead is just sitting there? I'll take the Memorial City version any day. It's my understanding that Metro National is a Houston corporation, which got their start developing Memorial City. That makes me even more enamoured with the project -- these folks are in it for the long haul. Sure, they're going to rake in the $$ but they're not going to build a lot of sleek looking stuff which looks good on paper and then sell it and not care what happens after that. I'd be willing to bet that 50 years from now, what they're building today will have maintained/gained in value and will be in a constant state of upkeep. Here's a link to their website, Metro National, gives their history, press releases, plus a video of their upcoming developments. On the topic of Town & Country, does anyone remember the original T&C? Way back in the late 60s I think it was, pre T&C mall. The concept was to have a bunch of small squares of stores with stores inside the square and parking around the perimeter. It was meant to be sort of a villagy sort of feel. In fact, it was actually called, Town & Country Village. It didn't do well. And what I remember was that the reason it didn't do well was that people wanted to be in an air conditioned mall, not walking from store to store in the Houston heat. Then they built the mall, finally. Why didn't it do well? I guessing proximity to Memorial City and no really attractive anchors to steal business away from MC. And now they're going to tear down the mall and go back to the outdoor concept?? What a hoot. Maybe they just ought to face facts that the location is just not good for retail.

All interesting options. However, none of that addresses the fact that our mass transportation system really only serves certain areas well. So if you live/work in those areas, you've got access to the transportation and that's fine. However, I would venture to guess that the vast majority of people who live in Houston are not in that situation. And that's my point when I say that our mass transportation system has a long way to go before it really serves Houston well.

Ah yes, Tang City. If you build it, they will come. NOT. That was a classic ill-conceived project. They built a beautiful (it was beautiful when it was new) Asian style shopping mall and (if I remember correctly) a high end Asian Furniture store opened there. The plan was to fill in the mall with similar retail, and then further develop the area with residental and other light commercial. Problem is, you ought to build the housing first, THEN the retail. Basically, there just wasn't any business for the mall, and there was no further development. (I guess the financing dried up.) The one store closed and the mall was abandoned and just got more dilapidated as time wore on. It's a real shame because it really was a nice place when it got built. How long ago was that now? I think maybe 15 - 20 years?

I think it's a sort of Catch 22. We in Houston have gotten so used to taking our cars everywhere and not using the buses, it's going to take a LOT to get us out of that habit. So which comes first, ridership or increased routes? I have to think it's the routes -- because I just don't see how ridership can increase if the bus/rail doesn't go where you need it to go. As for people not taking the bus downtown, I don't know why that is. If I worked DT, you can bet I'd be on that park & ride every day. So Good Question! What DOES it take to get people to ride when the availability and convenience IS there? I've never done park & ride so I have no clue -- are the buses full? Do they run enough of them or do they run half empty buses just to achieve frequency? If more people rode, would they need more buses?

It takes me 20 minutes TOPS and usually more like 15 to drive to work. If I had to transfer twice, I wonder how long it would take me. As a teenager, I lived in Westbury and had a job in Sharpstown Mall, a 20 minute drive from my house. I didn't have a car so I took the bus. I had to take a bus to the corner of Main & Holcombe, then a bus that went west on Holcombe to Bellaire & SW Freeway. Between the two buses & waiting time, it took me no less than 1 hour & 20 minutes, and some times more. I just can't see doing anything like that now that I have a car. So yeah, if it took me say 30 minutes (a 50% increase over my current communte time) to get to work on the bus, I'd go for it. I would be pretty surprised if I could make it to work in less than an hour taking three buses. And waiting at three bus stops in Houston heat is not exactly attractive. Waiting at one would be ok, two, tolerable, three, to travel approximately 7 miles is, IMHO, excessive.

from the bus thread on the Transportation site.... Kirzania, I call your attention to the above two quotes by you. The gist of it is, if you live in the burbs, you're SOL. So, I guess that means me. I live in the burbs. Yeah, if you call 2 miles outside the loop the burbs. I went ahead and checked the Metro website in case I was missing something, but even by transfering, I can't get from my house to work by bus. I live off of S. Braeswood & Hillcroft & work in Greenway Plaza. I didn't check if I could get there by taking three buses, I figured two was my limit. I would leave my car at home in a heartbeat if I could get to work by bus! I don't live in Midtown or work in downtown. So the bus is not an option for me. And apparently for anyone else who doesn't live/work in those locations. So, while the fact that it runs on time is admirable, and although I really don't know this to be fact, I'll concede that we have a well run system. That still does not address the fact that most of the city is not well-served by our mass transportation system. That's my point, which maybe I didn't make clear from the beginning. I'd love to see us spend just a few of the $$ that we currently allocate to widening freeways on adding bus routes -- that would go so far towards alleviating the need for wider freeways. Back on topic. I still contend that our downtown doesn't need to emulate other downtowns to be great. Houston needs to figure out its own way without following other cities' models.