COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE VALUE OF A NEW CHAIN STORE, IN SMALL BILLS “But don’t yall think having a Kohls nearby is well worth the price of a few ducks?” [Joe, commenting on Comment of the Day: Mystery Neighbor for the Meyer Park Walmart?]
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Tag: Chain-Stores
BORDERS SHOWDOWN Only one bid came in for bankrupt bookseller Borders Group by Sunday’s deadline — and it’s from a liquidator. An auction of the company’s assets is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon; going-out-of-business sales could begin as early as Friday. Back in February, Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch said his company might be interested in taking over a few of the remaining 400 Borders locations. Six of them are in Houston. [Publisher’s Weekly; Lynch statement; previously on Swamplot]
HOUSTON’S BORDERS WILL REMAIN OPEN As expected, the Borders Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today and announced the closing of 200 of its 644 bookstores nationwide. Nine of the announced store closings are in Texas, but Houston survived this round of cuts. All 7 Houston-area stores — on Kirby at West Alabama, in the Galleria, Meyerland Plaza, the Baybrook Mall, at IAH, in Stafford, and the Woodlands — will remain open. [Wall Street Journal; list of store closings; previously on Swamplot]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: NOMINATED FOR THE WALMART PEACE PRIZE “. . . If everyone arguing against the West End Walmart would stand up and say, ‘I don’t personally like Walmart but I certainly don’t think less of you for thinking they are not so bad’ then we would probably all get along much better.” [Jimbo, commenting on Surprise! Walmart Buying Land Next to Idylwood for Houston’s First Inner-Loop SuperCenter]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: YOU COULD’VE HAD A CHAIN STORE! 
“this was a terrible gym location, and parking was going to be a battle from day one. hate to be johnny-come-suburb, but it was a better call to work a deal to redevelop the site with CVS and give them their free-standing deal with drive thru. Soma would be down the street somewhere, hopefully with easier access/parking, crew would not be under, and this property would be better served than the future it has. now the owner spent time/effort with this problem, has a built-out gym that is not usable for another gym (nightclub, here we come…for 9 months), has 3500 sf that doesn’t lease (my guess is from lack of parking/ability to pay the rent) and has a basement (???) that will never lease. all of this, and he could be on a beach right now, getting his checks in the mail from year 4 of 20 with CVS as the return addressee.” [jg, commenting on Fitness-Club Scavengers at the Washington Ave Crew] Photo of West End Shopping Center, Washington Ave at Shepherd: Aaron Carpenter
Strictly speaking, Starbucks number 3 at the corner of West Gray and Shepherd is the new “Barnes and Noble Cafe” inside the just-opened bookstore. But we all know who calls the shots there.
And now we know: The universe is without end.
COMMENT OF THE DAY: DRUG STORE LOCATOR “The Young & Restless children’s consignment shop moved from the red wooden house to the blue metal warehouse, a year or two ago. A CVS won’t go in there because there is no Walgreen’s across the street. Must have a Walgreen’s in place in order to plant a CVS.” [Miz Brooke Smith, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Larsten Space]
NINFA’S JUST MEANS RESTAURANT Legacy Restaurants, the owners of Ninfa’s on Navigation, is starting up another chain using the Ninfa’s name. The first Ninfa’s Mexican Kitchen, “inspired by the original Ninfa’s but with an upscale twist,” will open on NASA Road 1 across from the Johnson Space Center early next year. “Adding to the confusion is the fact that all the other Ninfa’s Mexican restaurants are individually owned and are not related to Legacy Restaurants. Investor Neil Morgan, who also owns the rights to Antone’s restaurants, purchased Ninfa’s on Navigation in 2006, and he and [CEO Chris] Harter formed Legacy Restaurants to manage it as a wholly owned subsidiary.” [Houston Business Journal]
Walking from their car to the front door of the Circuit City on San Felipe, Bunny Bungalow resident Annie Sitton and her husband notice a crack in the stucco covering a pilaster at the front of the building. Looking closer, they notice that . . .
Three items from the world of Houston shopping-center development:
- A suburban shopping-center developer complains to the Chronicle about Houston’s glut of bland suburban strip centers:
Retail developer Bobby Orr says the suburbs are overridden with unanchored strip centers, so his company is developing projects closer to the center of town . . .
Orr believes there are “only so many nail salons and dry cleaners” that can fill up suburban centers and that there’s pent-up demand in urban areas where housing density is increasing.
- As if on cue, two former Subway franchise owners tell the Houston Business Journal that they’re going to flood the Houston market with more than a hundred new Submarina sandwich shops. The first store opens the beginning of August, at I-45 and Airline.
- And speaking of anchors, the HBJ also reports that Staples will soon be rescuing shopping centers all around Houston from that nail-biting anonymity:
Staples officials are tight-lipped about the company’s plans for Houston, but local retail sources say they’ve seen Staples stores on as many as 11 different site plans for future retail developments ranging from Katy, to League City to Spring, as well as a close-in site at Post Oak and San Felipe.
Staples has already signed a lease for a new store at I-45 South and Almeda Genoa.
- Retail developer looks closer to downtown [Houston Chronicle]
- Staples lets ink dry on Houston deal [Houston Business Journal (subscription only)]
- News from the food and drink front [Houston Business Journal (subscription only)]