Sporting some of the more evocative ghost signage in Midtown, the vacant former Saigon Cafe #2 seems to be in the process of becoming the future Cafe Helene. This TABC sign is dated May 24, and a rep from the building’s leasing company says that the new sandwich shop should be open here at 3101 Main St. in the next few months. Located between the Ensemble/HCC and McGowen stops, the 8,000-sq.-ft. building dates to 1948, county records show, and it’s catty-corner from the not-quite-3-acre swath of the Midtown Superblock and that back-of-a-strip-center mural that was painted in April. For now, a thorough gutting of the building seems to be underway, at least judging from the size of the pile of scrap in the back:
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- Previously on Swamplot: The Park-and-Apartments Plan for Midtown’s Superblock
Photos: Allyn West
a beautiful late 40’s or early 50’s building
w/mezzanine level . . . former home of the Thelma K. Brill Corset Shop
It’s great to see all the new things going into this part of town.
That late-Moderne awning is a winner. I imagine they’ll sell lots of sandwiches with the HCC offices across the street.
I’d be interested in quantifying how many quiet real estate events become public knowledge due to TABC signs…seems fairly common, at least from reading Swamplot regularly.
but can they obtain a TABC license when HCC
teaches some high school classes?
swamp……funny the city has lasted for thousands of years………guess these swamp lots have more staying power than most ever thought………….
Uh, Houston was founded in 1837.
What a dump. Raze it.