Artis Montrose: Multifamily At 3300 Montrose Blvd.

[Houston19514]

42 minutes ago, mollusk said:

 

Looks like someone pointed out to Channel 13 that Disco Kroger had been there for a lot longer than the 17 years mentioned in the original quote... they updated their story.  I feel sorry for whoever came up with that original time line - they missed out on so much of the discolicious fabulosity that preceded the remodeling.

 

I was wondering about that...  I hadn't done the math yet, but upon reading that 17 years bit, I immediately thought that couldn't be right.  How do our "journalists" manage to get so many simple facts wrong?  I wonder where they came up with that 17 years?

Edited November 11, 2020 by Houston19514

[j_cuevas713]

I know we all have very fond memories here but this is actually really great for the area. Westmont will kick off soon, and we can only speculate what will happen here. Montrose is becoming next level. 

[mollusk]

3 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

 

I was wondering about that...  I hadn't done the math yet, but upon reading that 17 years bit, I immediately thought that couldn't be right.  How do our "journalists" manage to get so many simple facts wrong?  I wonder where they came up with that 17 years?

 

They're young, and need to get off our lawns.

[EspersonBuildings]

Yes, yes, yes!  I'm glad I'm not the only one who scratched my head when I saw "more than 17 years"  I just thought huh?  My very first apartment was in Montrose back in 1983 and I remember it then being called "disco Kroger"  Not exactly sure how long it's been there but for sure "MORE THAN 35 YEARS" would be more accurate!
"

Edited November 12, 2020 by EspersonBuildings
added more info

[X.R.]

10 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

I know we all have very fond memories here but this is actually really great for the area. Westmont will kick off soon, and we can only speculate what will happen here. Montrose is becoming next level. 

 

Sorta sad to see it go, I had some weird but funny stuff happen to me at that store. As an actual place to do all my grocery shopping it was... OK. Convenience I'd give that Kroger a 10/10, but for actual food stuffs I preferred the fiesta on 59. I know people love that old Kroger but in the last year or so I'd gotten some sorta crappy produce like apples and garlic and avocados that were mostly over-ripe/going bad. Meat kinda sucks, is a bit expensive too. Buuuut, its convenient and not crowded so I go/went there often. 

 

This plus that other lot with the half price and mattress firm...if someone bought the whole thing they could make a very cohesive development that would become the place that Montrose revolves around. I hope a grocer stays in this area, an Aldi would be perfect. Affordable and usually a small footprint. 

[gene]

that lot with half price is already closing and being redeveloped...(along with the Jack in The Box being demolished this month) look for that to start happening in 2021...there is a thread in going up! 

 

[dbigtex56]

First, 17 years was WAY off the mark. I sent a typo/correction email to ABC13 via their FB page, and the age was immediately deleted.
Not exactly sure when this Kroger opened; when I started shopping there in 1981. I'm told that it was only a couple of years old. I've also heard that the Montrose Softball League used to play their games on that lot when it was vacant.
I'm going to miss it for both sentimental and practical reasons. I
t's easily accessible by two different bus lines, both of which run frequently. The same cannot be said about the Montrose HEB, now that the Alabama line has been discontinued. And the bus that serves W Gray and the River Oaks Kroger runs only every half hour. 
It is within walking distance for a significant portion of Montrose. A neighborhood isn't "pedestrian friendly" unless there are destinations to lure out of their houses and cars.
It's been a good meeting place, where encountering neighbors and friends make shopping more of a pleasure than a chore. I know several long-time employees by name, which builds a sense of community.
Some people have commented on their high prices, but the thrifty shopper can find some great Manager's Specials in the produce, deli, and meat departments. There's also a selection of discontinued or damaged items that have been heavily discounted. Snooty Kroger on W. Gray can't (and probably doesn't want to) compete.
Some people seem to believe that increased property values and new development automatically equal improvement. Although Disco Kroger is no longer glamorous, I think the contributions that it has made should be recognized.

[Ross]

From a search of the County Clerk records, Kroger leased the property effective May 19, 1977, then bought it in 1985.I also discovered that Kroger did much of their real estate stuff through an entity named Topvalco. The things you can find in property records...

[dbigtex56]

49 minutes ago, Ross said:

From a search of the County Clerk records, Kroger leased the property effective May 19, 1977, then bought it in 1985.I also discovered that Kroger did much of their real estate stuff through an entity named Topvalco. The things you can find in property records...

That makes sense. The original footprint of the building was quite a lot smaller than it is now (perhaps 2/3 or 3/4 its present size), and Kroger didn't occupy the entire block. 
Eventually the few remaining houses facing on Hawthorne (and maybe Yoakum?) were demolished to expand parking, and the building was significantly enlarged. 
IIRC this would have been sometime in the mid to late 80's. 

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

77 sounds about right. Kroger had a major expansion in town around that time. My brother's first job was at a Kroger in Stafford in '79 right after he turned 16, the store was new then.

[Houston19514]

So it was always a Kroger?  I couldn't remember if it was one of those that had once been an AppleTree/Safeway or something else.

[mollusk]

3 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

So it was always a Kroger?  I couldn't remember if it was one of those that had once been an AppleTree/Safeway or something else.

 

Nope, always a Kroger.  Its partially exposed aggregate tilt wall and cube street sign are dead giveaways - check out the resemblance to the Fiesta on Cavalcade for instance.  OTOH, Cougar Kroger on West Gray was a Safegarten's.

[Houston19514]

24 minutes ago, mollusk said:

 

Nope, always a Kroger.  Its partially exposed aggregate tilt wall and cube street sign are dead giveaways - check out the resemblance to the Fiesta on Cavalcade for instance.  OTOH, Cougar Kroger on West Gray was a Safegarten's.

 

Are you saying the Fiesta on Cavalcade was once a Kroger?

[Ross]

5 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

 

Are you saying the Fiesta on Cavalcade was once a Kroger?

Yep. Kroger didn't own the property, as far as I can tell, but they leased it from the same entity that they leased the Montrose store from, Brienwolf. That was in 1979.

[Houston19514]

16 hours ago, Ross said:

Yep. Kroger didn't own the property, as far as I can tell, but they leased it from the same entity that they leased the Montrose store from, Brienwolf. That was in 1979.

 

I'm confused.  Where is the Fiesta on Cavalcade?  (I was thinking of the one at Fulton and Patton, and according to this thread, that Fiesta was formerly a Rice grocery)

Edited November 14, 2020 by Houston19514

[Ross]

4 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

 

I'm confused.  Where is the Fiesta on Cavalcade?  (I was thinking of the one at Fulton and Patton, and according to this thread, that Fiesta was formerly a Rice grocery)

It's actually Fulton and Patton. It was a Rice before being a Fiesta. As a Rice, it was one of the worst stores in town, with crappy produce, stale bread, and limited low quality meat supply. My mother in law thought it was great, until we convinced her to come West of 45.

[hindesky]

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/article/Disco-Kroger-my-neighborhood-store-an-elegy-15722825.php

[mollusk]

23 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

 

I'm confused.  Where is the Fiesta on Cavalcade?  (I was thinking of the one at Fulton and Patton, and according to this thread, that Fiesta was formerly a Rice grocery)

I stand corrected regarding the location.  I'm not so great at reading street signs when I know where I'm going.

[Houston19514]

1 hour ago, mollusk said:

I stand corrected regarding the location.  I'm not so great at reading street signs when I know where I'm going.

 

I guess we've also learned that the Fiesta store at Patton and Fulton was never a Kroger, but was instead formerly a Rice grocery store.

[Ross]

10 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

 

I guess we've also learned that the Fiesta store at Patton and Fulton was never a Kroger, but was instead formerly a Rice grocery store.

It was a Kroger before it was a Rice. Kroger leased the property in 1978. Rice assigned the lease to Fiesta in 1998. I haven't found the assignment from Kroger to Rice.

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

I saw on the news this morning that someone set a fire in the back on the Disco Kroger.

[Houston19514]

11 hours ago, Ross said:

It was a Kroger before it was a Rice. Kroger leased the property in 1978. Rice assigned the lease to Fiesta in 1998. I haven't found the assignment from Kroger to Rice.

 

Cool.  Thanks for the info

[EspersonBuildings]

On 11/13/2020 at 12:47 PM, mollusk said:

 

Nope, always a Kroger.  Its partially exposed aggregate tilt wall and cube street sign are dead giveaways - check out the resemblance to the Fiesta on Cavalcade for instance.  OTOH, Cougar Kroger on West Gray was a Safegarten's.

Y

Edited November 18, 2020 by EspersonBuildings
added more info

[EspersonBuildings]

You can also see the remants of 1970's Krogers on another former Montrose (77098) location 3443 Kirby, now an Office Depot (I used to shop there also in the early 80's) as well as Energized for Excellence Academy School at 6201 Bissonnet.  Can't 100% be sure of this one but the building structure certainly screams a 1970's Kroger building.  Like the Fiesta on Patton and Fulton, the arches on Office Depot and the Excellence Academy are dead giveaways.

Edited November 18, 2020 by EspersonBuildings
added more info

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

I think 6201 Bissonnet is the old Homer's location. We now know Homers as Home Depot.

[clutchcity94]

Someone on the NextDoor app said that Hanover has purchased the Kroger lot. Can anyone confirm?

[Ross]

48 minutes ago, clutchcity94 said:

Someone on the NextDoor app said that Hanover has purchased the Kroger lot. Can anyone confirm?

Nothing on the County Clerk's site yet, but it can take a while for documents to be recorded.

[hindesky]

Just went to my Kroger to stock on a few things before they close early for Christmas Eve and saw lots of bare shelves in preparation for their permanent closing, I was under the impression they would close mid January but I think it's going to very soon. Pharmacy operations are closing on the 26th and being transferred to the W. Gray store.

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

RIP Disco Kroger.

[hindesky]

I was wrong about the date of the pharmacy closing, might have mixed it up with Specs closing. Date for the closure of the pharmacy is 2pm Dec. 30th. Sales on some products.