What Became Of This And That

[ding]

if i am not in the right forum, i trust a moderator will forward me on. this is my first post

i left at the beginning of the 70s and only came back - and to live, at that - in may of this year. i was in los angeles until early 2004 and moved to bogot

[dbigtex56]

Welcome to HAIF, ding.

Several of the restaurants you mentioned can be found in "Defunct Houston Restaurants" (click here for the link to that topic.) Hope you enjoy our members' recollections, and add some of your own.

You can also use the Search function (second from right on taskbar at top of page) for other topics in which specific businesses are mentioned.

[Vertigo58]

Jetton

Edited August 1, 2008 by Vertigo58

[Fringe]

Wow. Returning to Houston after leaving in the early 70's must be like coming to a whole new city. Many changes. Some good, some bad. Welcome back.

[readam]

Wow. Returning to Houston after leaving in the early 70's must be like coming to a whole new city. Many changes. Some good, some bad. Welcome back.

Oh my oh my Ding, welcome back...the tales we could tell; where do we start ? You've come to a great place to start; hope you have the time to peruse all the links that you think will be helpful. Rest your eyes after awhile though.

[ding]

thanks to all who have replied. i hope someone will have someinfo, because i have another one to ask about rightt now--- /and don't think toobad of me if a lapse into spanish from time to time in spelling - it is much easier to spell in than 'ingl

[marmer]

Bienvenidos, amigo. Mucho gusto.

The sad truth is that the story is the same for most of those places. Houston grew and competition increased. More national chains arrived, along with new residents who didn't know about the old places. Cash flow dried up, owners aged, retired, or died, land values went up, and developers bought the properties. As I get older myself, I try not to take it personally and just think it's the city's natural cycle. I miss a lot of the old places, but I enjoy a lot of the new places.

Again, welcome. We look forward to your contributions.

[ding]

how about any knowledge on these two things, and i am going back to the mid 60s here, so a lot of you may have no idea what i am asking about. but....

there was a local line of soft drinks - cream soda, rootbeer, fruit sodas - was the name - golden times or something like that? not around anymore that i can tell. anyone know the story?

also, what happened to pearl and lone star beer?

and lastly, at the holiday period, Bordens would put out the VERY best eggnog ever. so so so thick, and a quart cardboard carton would cost 99 cents - truly expensive for those days. i would buy it after work late at night at a place open 24 hrs at the northwest corner of woodhead and richmond. we called it freaky foods, because the night people would be in there. it may actually have been called the richwood market, but it was freaky foods to all of us. freaky foods no longer is there. but please tell me that bordens still does this great eggnog during the holidays.

incidentally, the house of pies on kirby. i remember when it opened in early 1970. those pies were so good and 1.95 in price. banana cream was the favorite, but the black bottom, german chocolate, and butterscotch were great. and as i said, 1.95 for one of those pies.

ding

[readam]

The name of the soft drink company was GOLDEN AGE... gone and maybe forgotten - a few brands include Sun-Up Ice Cream, Westmorland Dairy and Milk, Dentler potato chips, and Grand Prize Beer( we were too young for that though )...Just take the time to check links in other HAIFcategories and the memories will come flying back.

[silverartfox]

There will be several brands of prepared eggnog in the grocery stores beginning in early November. Borden's might be one of them, but the ingredients and flavor have probably changed - and not for the better! You will want to see what's available in the dairy cases at Central Market, Rice Epicurean and Whole Foods.

[jm1fd]

There will be several brands of prepared eggnog in the grocery stores beginning in early November. Borden's might be one of them, but the ingredients and flavor have probably changed - and not for the better! You will want to see what's available in the dairy cases at Central Market, Rice Epicurean and Whole Foods.

I'm pretty sure I saw Borden's on the shelf a few years back. I'll bet they're still churning it out.

[ding]

thank you guys. golden age is the local drink company, you are right.

as for the beers, do pearl and lonestar still exist?

on the bordens eggnog, it had elsie on the carton. carnation did a carton also, but weak weak. not thick and as if borden had used at least 10 times as much eggs and cream as carnation had. is carnation still around in the store dairy areas? i have not seen it at foodtown.

incideentally, when did foodtown surface? i do not remember it. henke was becoming kroger at the turn of the 70s, and randalls was much much smaller.

ding

[readam]

thank you guys. golden age is the local drink company, you are right.

as for the beers, do pearl and lonestar still exist?

on the bordens eggnog, it had elsie on the carton. carnation did a carton also, but weak weak. not thick and as if borden had used at least 10 times as much eggs and cream as carnation had. is carnation still around in the store dairy areas? i have not seen it at foodtown.

incideentally, when did foodtown surface? i do not remember it. henke was becoming kroger at the turn of the 70s, and randalls was much much smaller.

ding

Pearl and Lone Star are still around but I think they are owned by foreign (non Texan) companies

Borden's still sells great thick eggnog in aluminum quart sized cans that is out of this world...great for French toast dipping/frying

Randall's took over many of the Handy Andy locations and was later sold to Safeway...IMHOP that sale was a huge mistake...I think Handy Andy still operates stores in San Antonio

[ding]

ah...so randalls is now safeway in houston...interesting. and i definitely will look for the bordens in the cans.

:P

ding

[EastEnd Susan]

thank you guys. golden age is the local drink company, you are right.

as for the beers, do pearl and lonestar still exist?

on the bordens eggnog, it had elsie on the carton. carnation did a carton also, but weak weak. not thick and as if borden had used at least 10 times as much eggs and cream as carnation had. is carnation still around in the store dairy areas? i have not seen it at foodtown.

incideentally, when did foodtown surface? i do not remember it. henke was becoming kroger at the turn of the 70s, and randalls was much much smaller.

ding

Yes the Bordens Egg Nog is still the same. Its the only one I buy. You are right about it being much much thicker than the others. They also never put all the spices the others had and left the spicing up to you. Oh, Welcome back!

[Alpha]

ah...so randalls is now safeway in houston...interesting. and i definitely will look for the bordens in the cans.

:P

ding

They are still called Randall's, they are just owned by Safeway.

[crunchtastic]

House of Pies is still here! Although you can't even get a slice for $1.95. In college I think I think I spent one semester eating nothing but pie, speed, coffee and fries. All at the House of Pies on Kirby.

Banana, cocount cream, blackbottom and french silk--still the BEST! My family still brings House of Pies pies for occasions when when we can't make a cake/pie from scratch.

[roym]

I thought Handy Andy was a hardware store? Why would Randall's have taken it over? Am I remember a hardware store that had a similar name back in the 70s?

Yes Lonestar is still around. Should be able to find it in most grocery stores and convenience stores. I don't know who makes it but I thought it was till made in state. I thought the Lonestar brewery was moved to Dallas?

Pearl is out of state owned now but still made. You can occassionally get it at the downtown Spec's Liquor.

[Alpha]

I thought Handy Andy was a hardware store? Why would Randall's have taken it over? Am I remember a hardware store that had a similar name back in the 70s?

I think it was Handy Dan - something like Home Depot.

[roym]

I think it was Handy Dan - something like Home Depot.

Yep, that's sounding right.

[dbigtex56]

i would buy it after work late at night at a place open 24 hrs at the northwest corner of woodhead and richmond. we called it freaky foods, because the night people would be in there. it may actually have been called the richwood market, but it was freaky foods to all of us. freaky foods no longer is there.

ding

It's still there! You might not recognize it, because it has had a bad makeover (see the Sears on Main thread); the original brick 1930's building is still lurking under a skin of nasty metal. Now it looks like just another convenience store.

I lived on Richmond near Dunlavy in the early 80's when it was still known as Freaky Foods, just down the block from that liquor store - King's?

[Earlydays]

It's still there! You might not recognize it, because it has had a bad makeover (see the Sears on Main thread); the original brick 1930's building is still lurking under a skin of nasty metal. Now it looks like just another convenience store.

I lived on Richmond near Dunlavy in the early 80's when it was still known as Freaky Foods, just down the block from that liquor store - King's?

I remember going to that grocery store late at night in the early 70's and it was like visiting an alien planet......

[ding]

well, thank goodness for small favors. i will have to make an homage to freaky foods. i wonder if the owners know its once very well known title to everybody in montrose?

my partner asks that all of you experts in chicken fried steak come forward with any opinions on where you think the best one is NOW in houston??

and yes, i was at the house of pies - which everybody in montrose back then simply called it 'The Pie House' last week for an entire german chocolate. and you know what it tasted just like it always did. but $11 instead of $1.95.and i ate it all - just like back then. :P

din

and, altrhough pancho's mexican buffet calls itself a buffet, there seems to be disagreement over the definition of the word buffet b y various people.

do you guys know of any authentic mexican buffets - where you take a plate and get what and as much of what you want??

ding

[marketingwiz]

how about any knowledge on these two things, and i am going back to the mid 60s here, so a lot of you may have no idea what i am asking about. but....

there was a local line of soft drinks - cream soda, rootbeer, fruit sodas - was the name - golden times or something like that? not around anymore that i can tell. anyone know the story?

also, what happened to pearl and lone star beer?

and lastly, at the holiday period, Bordens would put out the VERY best eggnog ever. so so so thick, and a quart cardboard carton would cost 99 cents - truly expensive for those days. i would buy it after work late at night at a place open 24 hrs at the northwest corner of woodhead and richmond. we called it freaky foods, because the night people would be in there. it may actually have been called the richwood market, but it was freaky foods to all of us. freaky foods no longer is there. but please tell me that bordens still does this great eggnog during the holidays.

incidentally, the house of pies on kirby. i remember when it opened in early 1970. those pies were so good and 1.95 in price. banana cream was the favorite, but the black bottom, german chocolate, and butterscotch were great. and as i said, 1.95 for one of those pies.

ding

OMG Ding! That's the first time I've heard of anyone mentioning 'Freaky Foods' on HAIF and YES INDEED, it was a freaky place to shop. Most of the items on the old, rickety wooden shelves were DUSTY and expired; many of the can labels were faded. It was mostly a cigarettes, beer and wine kind of place. My future husband and I stood in line with many a transvestite (including Liza with a Z and Dr. Spock) to buy our Stouffer's frozen entrees, the safest food there. One evening we actually bought a wino his bottle after 5 minutes of watching his shaking hands pull penny after penny out of his filthy pants pocket. We were fairly poor back then so it was a big sacrifice for us. Yes, we contributed to his problem and no, rehabilitation didn't seem to be in his future. (We lived around the block on Colquitt and often walked to FF).

It was formally named Richwood Food Market and it is actually still there. They put aluminum siding on it and it's now a Texaco convenience store, same spot.

Borden's still makes a killer egg nog (but I think Schepp's is richer) and the House of Pies is now the House of Guys.

Hope this catches you up a bit. Welcome home!

[ding]

OMG Ding! That's the first time I've heard of anyone mentioning 'Freaky Foods' on HAIF and YES INDEED, it was a freaky place to shop. Most of the items on the old, rickety wooden shelves were DUSTY and expired; many of the can labels were faded. It was mostly a cigarettes, beer and wine kind of place. My future husband and I stood in line with many a transvestite (including Liza with a Z and Dr. Spock) to buy our Stouffer's frozen entrees, the safest food there. One evening we actually bought a wino his bottle after 5 minutes of watching his shaking hands pull penny after penny out of his filthy pants pocket. We were fairly poor back then so it was a big sacrifice for us. Yes, we contributed to his problem and no, rehabilitation didn't seem to be in his future. (We lived around the block on Colquitt and often walked to FF).

It was formally named Richwood Food Market and it is actually still there. They put aluminum siding on it and it's now a Texaco convenience store, same spot.

Borden's still makes a killer egg nog (but I think Schepp's is richer) and the House of Pies is now the House of Guys.

Hope this catches you up a bit. Welcome home!

THNKs marketingwiz.we both go back aways.

and i have more questions on whatever became of...

when i left, branch banking did not exist in texas. i believe the largest bank in town was texas commerce or 1st city national. and there was the bank of the southwest and others. in fact i banked at a little place on kirby north of richmond called Chemical Bank - no kin to the big new york bank. NOW, there are all these banks like B of A, Wells Fargo - which was my bank in california and colombia. ANYWAY, who bought whoml, etc? for example, what bank did wells fargo take over to get into houston? and any info you guys know about the others, i would appreciate.

ding

[Subdude]

THNKs marketingwiz.we both go back aways.

and i have more questions on whatever became of...

when i left, branch banking did not exist in texas. i believe the largest bank in town was texas commerce or 1st city national. and there was the bank of the southwest and others. in fact i banked at a little place on kirby north of richmond called Chemical Bank - no kin to the big new york bank. NOW, there are all these banks like B of A, Wells Fargo - which was my bank in california and colombia. ANYWAY, who bought whoml, etc? for example, what bank did wells fargo take over to get into houston? and any info you guys know about the others, i would appreciate.

ding

Most of the larger independent banks, such as Chemical and Fannin Bank were acquired by local bank holding companies and were effectively run close to branches although they retained their bank charters. Branch banking was legalized later.

The big Texas bank holding companies were Allied, First City, TCB, RepublicBank, Interfirst, Mercantile, and Bank of the Southwest. The latter two merged into MBank, which promptly failed and was taken over by Bank One, which later was bought by Chase.

Allied morphed into Wells Fargo. Interfirst and Republic merged and became First Republic. (A classic quote at the time referred to it as two drunks holding each other up.) First Republic quickly failed and was acquired by NCNB, later NationsBank, now Bank of America.

TCB was bought by Chemical New York without waiting around to fail. Chemical went through a whole series of mergers (Chase Manhattan, Manufacturers Hanover, JP Morgan, etc) and ended up as JPMorgan Chase.

First City failed and was recapitalised by Robert Abboud, and after a year or two failed again. The banks were sold off, with most of the branches going to Texas Commerce.

I'm sure I'm missing some along the way here.

[ding]

subdude, thanks for fascinating info.

WHY all these failures of big banks certainly like 1st city? i would have thought they would have been thriving in the houston expansion.

ding

[Earlydays]

subdude, thanks for fascinating info.

WHY all these failures of big banks certainly like 1st city? i would have thought they would have been thriving in the houston expansion.

ding

Basically 2 things did in the big Texas banks:

Short term, it was the S&L crisis of the late '80's.

Long term, the restrictive state regulations that prevented branch banking for generations limited the capital growth of the banks and they could never compete with the super-regionals, which then went nationwide like Citi, Chase, BofA, Wells, etc. These are the banks that ultimately acquired all the large Texas banks.

[ding]

Basically 2 things did in the big Texas banks:

Short term, it was the S&L crisis of the late '80's.

Long term, the restrictive state regulations that prevented branch banking for generations limited the capital growth of the banks and they could never compete with the super-regionals, which then went nationwide like Citi, Chase, BofA, Wells, etc. These are the banks that ultimately acquired all the large Texas banks.

yes, even in the late 60s, there were complaints here about lack of size and funds to supply loans for big projects.

[Subdude]

Basically 2 things did in the big Texas banks:

Short term, it was the S&L crisis of the late '80's.

Long term, the restrictive state regulations that prevented branch banking for generations limited the capital growth of the banks and they could never compete with the super-regionals, which then went nationwide like Citi, Chase, BofA, Wells, etc. These are the banks that ultimately acquired all the large Texas banks.

Actually the Texas banking collapse predated the S&L crisis and happened for different reasons. What did in the Texas banks was the bust of the early 1980s after oil prices collapsed. The Texas banks weren't known for exacting underwriting standards, and had lent far too much out on dicey real estate development deals. When the economy caved in too much collateral for too many marginal loans became worthless and had to be written off by the banks. Plus, the overall weakness in the economy meant there were fewer good customers and good lending opportunities.

Branch banking was belatedly legalized in 1986, although by then of course the worst was over and it was too little, too late. I seriously doubt that branch banking would have made any difference in the outcome. The banks were victims of their own weak lending standards.