Comments on: Heights Village: It Was All Just a Good Old Fashioned Dream

By: David Gerber

David Gerber — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:04:16 +0000

re. Trader Joe’s:
I too love there stores. I shop there while visiting my son in California.
I called their main office and was told their next expansion will be Chicago & the Midwest.
Texas is not in their plans for the near future.

By: Shanna Crawford

Shanna Crawford — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:08:54 +0000

“pesticide practices” has to do with the fact that the majority of PRODUCE is imported from mexico…

“not buy meat” has to do with LOW GRADE meat AND the fact that fiesta does not have its OWN meat inspectors at the slaughter houses as does randalls, krogers, heb, et.al. (a common practice that is in place because there are not enough FEDERAL inspectors–so reported to me by a butcher aquaintance…) i do not know from where fiesta obtains its meat. i just assumed it was typical american beef. if someone knows differently about meat or produce practices, please share! cheers.

By: EMME

EMME — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:10:13 +0000

I don’t understand this quote, “i will NOT buy meat there and worry about all the residue from mexican pesticide practices.”

Does Fiesta import its meat from Mexico?

By: Jimbo

Jimbo — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:06:21 +0000

Smallish store, good prices, some gourmet products but not overwhelmed with them. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, what Houston needs is Trader Joes.

Also just back from SoCal where i noticed a plethora of new “Fresh and Easy Neighborhood Markets” that would probably fit that description also. This is Tesco’s big new push into the US so we may see it spread East if it takes off there.

By: Chuckles

Chuckles — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:50:15 +0000

Hey ya’ll… is there anywhere on the interwebs that is tracking all the shelved Houston developments… something on HAIF perhaps? I’m thinking of projects like this or the Titan or Sonoma… anyone?

Thanks!

By: Shanna Crawford

Shanna Crawford — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 03:04:27 +0000

there is a fiesta on the corner of patton and fulton that was once owned by rice food markets. fiesta maintains the store much better than rice ever did, h-o-w-e-v-e-r it is just not a “good fiesta.” can someone please explain why some fiestas have better quality produce, wider variety of herbs, baking supplies, flippin’ artichokes, fuzzy water, sorbet, etc… at one time, we were hoping that the fiesta store manager would positively respond to the “market drill-down study” and the hard work of the planning/ community/ architecture committee that created & designed a vision for future development. alas and alack, ’twas not to be…
if anyone has any pull with HEB or a big wig at fiesta, please convey the desire of the surrounding neighborhoods to have a CLEAN, CHEERFUL, SAFE store that carries basic gourmet products, a bakery, a decent pedestrian coffee bar, quality deli, etc. although i shop there for dry goods, some fruits, and some vegetables, i will NOT buy meat there and worry about all the residue from mexican pesticide practices. many people from the near-northside and brooke smith, who have to leave the hood as many heights people have to do, would love to be able to have the site as an epicenter for shopping in lieu of driving all over creation to get to a decent grocery store. please forgive any grammatical mistakes holidays have been exhausting… cheers.

By: ben

ben — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 02:20:52 +0000

The Fiesta on Shepherd and 23rd is a fantastic store. All the whole foods stuff you need plus all the regular and exotic fiesta stuff. They have changed with the neighborhood over the years to encompass all demographics. Been there for years

By: Monica

Monica — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:08:12 +0000

The “past is the past”, but I did also like the HEB, mainly for size and convenience. Small, not gourmet, and “Dolce Gabana” wannabe prices don’t mix well in such a diverse area as Heights, Sixth Ward, First Ward, White Oak, and lower/near Montrose. I like gourmet and organic products also, but in moderation- you know teacher’s salary and a teen in College. Although, my husband & I don’t hurt economically now, you never know. Anyhow, old HEB needed some TLC, but a nice, new one would sure be cool in a very diverse group of people, who are overall looking at the “Economic Bottomline.” Better, to not starve with meat and potatoes, then have to beg for pennies for your Caviar. Hoping, the Whole Foods wouldn’t go through, but an HEB instead. Perhaps, they may consider the populations needs and scale back prices or carry regular foods for the meat & potatoes folks, and a great Filet Mignon at a good price.

By: EMME

EMME — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:41:00 +0000

The HEB on 11th street was not well maintained. All the refrigerators and vegetable coolers were rusted and made it seem unsanitary (whether it was or not). It seemed dark and dingy. I actually like small grocery stores and do not require gourmet products, but I do appreciate a nice bakery and meat department with the basics.

By: Shanna Crawford

Shanna Crawford — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 18:30:05 +0000

“…not like the one they had on 11th st…”
are you out of yer cotton-pickin’ mind? ;-) that was THE BEST grocery store ever! it was the perfect size; you didn’t have to spend hours finding what you needed; it had friendly staff; annnd, best of all, after a long day at work, it had free coffee for customers. agreed, it did not carry gourmet products [but, hey, go to spec's!], however, the manager would order items that you requested. i was very very VERY sorry to see HEB close up shop.

By: mt

mt — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 18:05:57 +0000

One more thing, the Whole Foods on Dallas is still moving forward (albeit in a smaller footprint than previously planned) according to folks that I know who are involved with the project.

By: mt

mt — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 18:04:33 +0000

Whole Paycheck, er Whole Foods is in deep d** d** right now. There was a pretty rough WSJ article about them a few months back which essentially said that they were very low on cash. As far as I know their development pipeline is CLOSED until 2010, with their architects closing up shop for the duration. They are being sued by a Seattle developer for walking on a 60,000 sq. ft. lease 3 days before turnover. Amount of lawsuit? $68M. I don’t want to use the B word with Whole Foods, as they recently had a large cash infusion from a private equity group, but I’m guessing things will be thin for a few years. Here’s the link for those with WSJ access:

http://online.wsj.com/article/.....91873.html