Alabama Shepherd Shopping Center At 2922 South Shepherd Dr.

[rsb320]

They open in the Alabama on Friday.

From Chron: http://www.chron.com/business/article/Trader-Joe-s-to-open-Friday-in-the-former-Alabama-3875622.php

Cute -

Crews created faux movie posters to play on the building's past. They include "Gentlemen Prefer Blonde Ales," "Reservoir Hot Dogs" and "Pulpy Fiction." There's a genuine poster of Jack Benny's "Man About Town," the first movie the theater had in 1939.

[TGM]

They open in the Alabama on Friday.

Flack jacket - check

Updated last will and testament - check

Bullhorn to shout "I saw that last bottle first" - check

Bear Mace - check

iPod with Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries queued up and ready to play - check

Saul Goodman's business card - check

Urban assault vehicle (aka Volvo 240 wagon or Jeep Eagle) gassed and ready - check

Oh yeah; Grocery List - check

Friday should be an excellent day for a people watching field study for those enrolled in a sociology class. They should give out iPhone 5's to really make it interesting...

[Specwriter]

At least two local TV news shows have been giving the opening of the Alabama store at least as much coverage as they gave the shuttle earlier this week. They all but suggest one is some kind of degenerate if he does go there and buy stuff - today - as soon as possible.

I usually drive west on Alabama in the morning when going to work. This morning I took Bissonnet but for reasons other than to avoid the Shepherd/Alabama intersection so I don't know how crazy things may have been.

I could have stopped by and gawked at Mia Gradney. I'm pleased to see her back on TV after WB did it's little deed.

[skwatra]

I swung buy after having lunch with a friend near the Village. Only because I was on my bike and it was on my way home. Around 1pm it was a madhouse as expected, I only saw the small strip lot up front which was constantly full with people grabbing spots as people pulled out. I got the last spot on the bike rack and just poked my head in for 5 minutes. The isles were full but people were courteous, and the store was prepared. There were a ton of employees restocking, helping people out, and handing out samples. The fake movie posters were up along with some other signage. I snapped some pics on my phone which I'll upload later.

The checkout line was really long, but every register was manned and it was constantly moving, albeit slowly.

I'll go back later to grab my truffles, didn't have time to see how long that line would take.

[barracuda]

I swung buy after having lunch with a friend near the Village. Only because I was on my bike and it was on my way home. Around 1pm it was a madhouse as expected, I only saw the small strip lot up front which was constantly full with people grabbing spots as people pulled out. I got the last spot on the bike rack and just poked my head in for 5 minutes. The isles were full but people were courteous, and the store was prepared. There were a ton of employees restocking, helping people out, and handing out samples. The fake movie posters were up along with some other signage. I snapped some pics on my phone which I'll upload later.

The checkout line was really long, but every register was manned and it was constantly moving, albeit slowly.

I'll go back later to grab my truffles, didn't have time to see how long that line would take.

I'm still trying to understand the pent-up excitement over this store. For me, this city is too full of supermarkets and places for foodies (Specs, Central Market, etc.) to justify toiling through such grand-opening madness. I am kind of curious how the interior gutting turned out though, if you or others can post photos.

[skwatra]

They have unique items, and their own line. Worth checking out when things calm down.

People from the NE and Cali I'm sure are excited because it was a staple for them back home. If I moved to Cali and they decided to open a huge Spec's I would be there opening day. I actually did hear a girl on her cell saying "I just checked out at Trader Joe's, it feels like I'm back home".

Anyways, here are the pics:

[plumber2]

Don't buy the peanut butter!

[JJVilla]

They have unique items, and their own line. Worth checking out when things calm down.

People from the NE and Cali I'm sure are excited because it was a staple for them back home. If I moved to Cali and they decided to open a huge Spec's I would be there opening day. I actually did hear a girl on her cell saying "I just checked out at Trader Joe's, it feels like I'm back home".

You can say that again! I would trade a Trader Joe and all the Bevmos for a Spec's. Bevmo is the closet to Spec's in SoCal.

[LTAWACS]

So how's the peanut butter?

[NenaE]

Oh boo...I don't like the interior. Those Texas stars don't mix well with Art Deco. surprised they didn't completely destroy the interior. I can still see a few remnants. Is the balcony still intact? Those stairs were beautiful.

[Houston19514]

Oh boo...I don't like the interior. Those Texas stars don't mix well with Art Deco. surprised they didn't completely destroy the interior. I can still see a few remnants. Is the balcony still intact? Those stairs were beautiful.

The balcony? I think that might be the thing with the railing. You know, with the Texas stars plastered all over it. ;-)

[arndthwrld82]

Trader Joe's had a recall of their peanut butter due to a salmonella outbreak.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/story/2012/09/26/salmonella-outbreak-prompts-peanut-butter-recall/57846594/1

[NenaE]

The balcony? I think that might be the thing with the railing. You know, with the Texas stars plastered all over it. ;-)

By Joe, you're right...missed that. I was too upset to look closely. Juxtaposition

[Specwriter]

I'm sure there are many reasons related to life safety and liability that discourage management from letting the general public access the balcony. Wouldn't it be great though if they had musicians there playing for the shoppers. This could also help the local talent get some recognition. The Pot Belly sandwhich shop on US 59 at Cummins used to have this on nothing more than a canopy built over some of the dining booths.

I stopped by last Tuesday and liked the look of the store and the selection in general. It reminded me somewhat of the old Lucky 7 on Fairview but with a "grander" space.

[NenaE]

http://houston.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/04-09-12-restaurants-buck-the-alabama-theater-interior-demolition-trend-and-hold-onto-houston-history/

 

... somewhat related to this topic... old haunts around the Alabama.

[IronTiger]

Is it true that the leveling of the floor of the Alabama Theater was because of ADA requirements and code, at least partially?

[mollusk]

Tige, I'd imagine it was more a matter of preventing the joyous mayhem that would have ensued if there were shopping carts rolling wildly towards the western end of the store.

[NenaE]

Alabama-That carpeted staircase was beautiful...such a shame. Is the balcony gone?

[IronTiger]

Modern pictures on Yelp show it's still there, but it's probably employees only.

[Luminare]

I haven't been inside this, but a colleague at my firm said that they did a pretty good job of keeping a good portion of the interior. Honestly at least it's getting some use instead of falling apart like so many of the old theaters in the area. Maybe after some more densification then we might see a conversion back to its original state.

[IronTiger]

The Alabama Theater's sloping floor was covered in concrete, several feet in places. Restoration is plausible but I can't see it happening.

[NenaE]

I never saw the inside of the Alabama as a movie theater. I saw it when it was a bookstore. I grew up with a few of the old theaters, so I can say that it was, at the time I frequented it, sympathetically re-purposed. The entrance was beautiful. I haven't seen it since it changed owners. 

[mkultra25]

The changes made to the Alabama to repurpose it as the Bookstop were for the most part reversible with minimal effort - they didn't even take the screen down. Not so with the changes made to repurpose it as Trader Joe's - the concrete pour that leveled the floor is the biggest one. If it were ever to be repurposed back to its original use as a theater, which I don't see happening any time soon, it would probably have to be done along the lines of the Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Boulevard, where an interior "jewel box" was built up within the shell of the original 1920s-vintage structure. 

 

[NenaE]

nice photo... I have to say once again, I love those old theater ramp designs better than the new stair ones.  

[djrage]

The changes made to the Alabama to repurpose it as the Bookstop were for the most part reversible with minimal effort - they didn't even take the screen down. Not so with the changes made to repurpose it as Trader Joe's - the concrete pour that leveled the floor is the biggest one. If it were ever to be repurposed back to its original use as a theater, which I don't see happening any time soon, it would probably have to be done along the lines of the Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Boulevard, where an interior "jewel box" was built up within the shell of the original 1920s-vintage structure. 

 

Wow this is a flashback to my childhood. This is exactly where I saw Grease with 3 of my cousins. They were selling all kinds of Grease merchandise. I bought a comb.. the cashier thought I was asking for a coke

[IronTiger]

I had read that one of the features that Weingarten destroyed they claimed wasn't an original 1920s part of the theater, which sounds dubious (an excuse to have it ruined). But I also heard that the oldest theaters (dunno about the Alabama) didn't even have sloped floors, at least not at the rate that the Alabama had. Of course, I wasn't alive when the Alabama was built or even saw it when it was the Bookstop. I did some buy some cookie butter, candied ginger, and chocolate covered espresso beans there yesterday, though.

[NenaE]

The movie theaters I experienced as a kid in the '60's had sloped ramps. You entered through doors from a straight back wall and walked down. The Broadway and Santa Rosa theaters come to mind. The Santa Rosa had a balcony with stairs. I remember the circular lobby couch, port hole windows in the doors, thick carpeted stairs, and double "love seats" on some of the aisle ends.

 

The Alabama seemed grander to me than the Santa Rosa. I only visited it when it was the Bookstop. The restoration company did a good job. They retained many of the original features. The stairs, balcony, and screen were still there. I vaguely remember a sloped aisle in the book shelves area. Too bad it all disappeared with the recent transformation. 

 

The Gulfgate Twin Cinemas had those sloping aisles, but no balconies.The original screens and theater areas were huge. The color scheme included bright white, deep red and royal blue colors. The outside covered ticket booth area had painted red concrete floors. The stained glass lobby was beautiful.

[mkultra25]

23 hours ago, NenaE said:

The Gulfgate Twin Cinemas had those sloping aisles, but no balconies.The original screens and theater areas were huge. The color scheme included bright white, deep red and royal blue colors. The outside covered ticket booth area had painted red concrete floors. The stained glass lobby was beautiful.

 

Those old General Cinema theaters were very nice. The Northline and Meyerland twins were built around the same time as the Gulfgate and all three shared the same design and similar fixtures. I'm biased toward the Northline twin as it was the site of my very first moviegoing experience when I was 3 or 4 years old, and I saw a lot of movies there in the ensuing years until its eventual closure.