atomictelephone

It was a no brainer she was going to get back into local media and nothing against Darby I just wonder why she left Ch. 11 in the first place. Her travel/food writing was interesting, it almost seemed like she wanted to head in the direction of a professional travelogue instead of doing it as a hobby.

Wilshire Village was an apartment complex built in 1940 and torn down in 2009. H-E-B didn't actually buy it until around mid-2010, and the whole transfer went down in some shady real estate shenanigans, which can be read on Swamplot by digging deeper into the past (2010, 2009). The new H-E-B opened in fall 2011.

As far as I know, the grocery store at Dunlavy opened in the mid-1960s as a Weingarten, became Safeway in 1984 when the then-owners of Weingarten, Grand Union, dumped the chain (one carried on a few more years as an independent, but that's irrelevant), that became AppleTree in 1989 after Safeway spun off the Texas stores, and finally in 1994 AppleTree shut down and it was converted to Fiesta. And you know the rest...

Fascinating stuff. I remember after the complex had been torn down and it was vacant for some months, a sign appeared posted somewhere, on a tree perhaps, that said something along the lines of "this would make a great park". That sign didn't last very long.

The old apartment complex was called Wilshire Village. It was there when Fiesta was still a vacant lot, and it was there till it was torn down for the erecting of HEB.  In the early sixties its manager was a Mrs. Davis. I went to school (Montrose Elementary) with her daughter, and I played with her there a time or two. In recent years it declined greatly.

Libbie, sounds like you have vivid memories of the place. The thing that always struck me about it was even in its neglected state which is only how I knew it to be, that complex had a charm about it and I had the sense back in its heyday it would have looked really nice and certainly well built. I don't necessarily mean luxurious or anything, but nice. And I dug those courtyards.

I don't have any history to add but out of all the grocery stores in Houston that little Fiesta was by far my favorite. I only started shopping there in 2005 but I loved its small size and selection. I suppose the eclectic items reflected the clientele along with stocking the regular everyday staples we all need.

The only grocery store like it that I know of is Fresh Market in terms of small footprint but they're catering to a more high end consumer. Along with the history of the shopping center, does anyone remember much about the old apartment complex across the street that is now the HEB? It looked so old before it was torn down. Does anyone have any history on it?

I guess I am an oddball.  I enjoy a lot of KPFT's music programming.  I am glad there is still a terrestrial station out there that is not broadcasting the same lame playlist everyday (BTW, I like KACC, too).   I also appreciate that they broadcast the BBC Newshour.  I believe the only programming that KPFT broadcasts which originates from Pacifica is Democracy Now!

  

Democracy Now hasn't had any affiliation with Pacifica since WBAI went through tumult some years ago. While it's true Amy's program airs on Pacifica stations (she was a former WBAI staffer) it is now independent of Pacifica.

Michio Kaku's show Explorations which KPFT airs also originates from WBAI but is separate from Pacifica as well.

I know the Bookstop, but this wasn't that.  It was on the other side of the street, and was much smaller.  Just one floor.  For some reason I think it had an orange roof.

 

Since you mentioned foreign newspapers and magazines, might you be thinking of Superstand? Not precisely a bookstore as much as a newsstand on steroids, but it matches all the other criteria in your description. 

There was a Superstand, long out of business now, at Avalon and Shepherd where the Chipotle is now. There was another along Westheimer between Fondren and Voss/Hillcroft to the left of where the Tan Tan is. I believe there were other locations in Houston as well before their overexpansion got the best of them.

Issues ended up filling the void of Superstand but they too just recently closed.