01/20/12 3:35pm

The folks at the Chick-fil-A rising at the corner of Spring and Sawyer in the First Ward (across from the Sawyer Heights Shopping Center) aren’t quite ready to take your order, but judging from this photo it looks like they might be sometime soon. The fast-food drive-thru is going up on the site of the former Riviana Foods warehouse at 2222 Shearn St., which was demo’ed last fall. Now if they’d just add a second Starbucks somewhere near the giant parking lot, comments Twitter photographer knittykat (there’s one inside the Target already), the area would truly fulfill its destiny as stay-at-home mom mecca of the Heights.

Photo: Twitter user knittykat

11/21/11 10:59pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: EASIER TO CONCEAL THOSE SECRET YOGURT BEHAVIORS “I prefer the self-service kind of yogurt place. That way I can put blueberries, white chocolate chips, cap’n crunch and cheesecake bites on my chocolate and pistachio flavored froyo mix – and not get that judgement from the person making it.” [Britt A, commenting on Rice Village TCBY Leaves Franchise, Avoiding Self-Serve Fro-Yo Redo]

10/07/11 11:17am

Guatemalan fast-food chain Pollo Campero‘s new-prototype restaurant (pictured above) will soon become the fourth standalone drive-thru in a row along a section of the south side of Washington Ave. Driving east from the corner of Durham, you’ll find the W Grill (at left, featuring 2 drive-thru windows), then a Jack in the Box on the corner of Shepherd. After El Rey Taqueria comes the future Pollo Campero site at 4701 Washington Ave., slated to be the company’s next-in-line location — a new one is about to open at 702 W. Bay Area Blvd. in Webster, and another is planned for Missouri City. Any room for this burgeoning Washington Ave drive-thru scene to grow? That small building wedged between the W Grill and the Jack-in-the-Box could start to look hungry.

Images: Pollo Campero and W Grill

09/14/11 11:48am

NOW POPPING OUT BURRITOS Jack-in-the-Box-owned Chipotle competitor Qdoba Mexican Grill has opened its first Houston-area location (in a little while, at least) — in a former Hollywood Video location near Home Depot at the end of a strip center at 17400 Spring Cypress Rd. in Cypress, just northwest of Hwy. 290. Last year Brij Agrawal, the owner of 75 local Subway franchises, signed an agreement with the fast-casual chain to open 15 new Houston Qdobas within 7 years. [QSR] Photo: Qdoba Mexican Grill Houston

08/25/11 5:00pm

ROUTE 44 CHERRY LIMEADE FROM MASON RD. SONIC DRAWS OUT FBI FUGITIVE Why did an accused child rapist from Oklahoma come out of his hiding place of 5 days along the Brazos River in Stephen F. Austin State Park? “Because he was tired and thirsty and wanted a Route 44 cherry limeade from Sonic,” Charles Dyer apparently told authorities after he was captured near Pecan Grove carrying the drink in a cooler. As a shirtless pedestrian in a Richmond drive-in, Dyer may have aroused suspicion at the Sonic at 9835 S. Mason Rd. But it took someone spotting the former Marine blocks away to call the authorities. Over the last couple of years, Dyer has posted a series of YouTube videos (as July4Patriot) documenting his views about and problems with the government, as well as the various criminal charges filed against him. A member of the Oath Keeper militia movement, he has claimed that the rape charge was concocted as part of a government conspiracy. [KHOU 11 News; Instant News Katy] Photo: NEDSCO

08/24/11 11:34am

Houston burger fans, In-N-Out wants to pack your meat in Fort Worth. No, the California-based burger chain hasn’t announced any Houston locations yet, but clearly they’re on the radar: Only a few months after opening its first Texas location, In-N-Out is asking the city of Fort Worth to lower city taxes by $840,000 over 10 years so it can build a regional distribution center and meatpacking facility near DFW “that would support expansion across Texas and possibly into neighboring states.”

Photo: Mike E. Perez

07/28/11 8:14am

STUCK IN MCDONALD’S A second family is suing a second area franchisee over playground injuries caused by a metal fastener at a McDonald’s PlayPlace. Last weekend 2-1/2-year-old Alexis Durant caught and gashed her lip on this exposed bolt in a plastic slide in the I-45 feeder road McDonald’s at Pine Dr. in Dickinson, claims attorney Jason Gibson. Last year, another Gibson client sued the owners of the McDonald’s on Uvalde Rd. just south of Woodforest Blvd. after claiming their 6-year-old son cut his head on a screw sticking into a plastic slide tunnel. McDonald’s USA declined to comment on the lawsuits, but issued a statement saying “The safety of our youngest customers is our top priority.” [Click2Houston] Photo: Click2Houston

07/26/11 2:05pm

A Fuddruckers Express has taken over a portion of the Luby’s Cafeteria on the I-10 East feeder between Federal Rd. and Maxey. The 1,500-sq.-ft. hamburger joint was carved out of the former Luby’s takeout area and drive-thru, but the 2 restaurants share a kitchen in the 12,200-sq.-ft. freestanding building. Luby’s bought out the Fuddruckers chain last year.

Photo: Luby’s

07/22/11 2:17pm

A DIFFERENT KIND OF MEDICAL TOURISM How did Rockport, Texas, couple Karl and Carol Hoepfner get the idea to eat meals at all 722 Whataburgers in 10 states? It all started with a visit to the Texas Medical Center:Carol, 73, was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer in her eyes, which eventually sent her to Houston for 23 days of radiation earlier this year. All of the appointments were late in the day, and Karl wanted to do something other than spend the rest of the time in their apartment.” The Hoepfners used their free time to visit all 90 Houston Whataburger locations first. They’ve reached 225 so far. [Corpus Christi Caller] Photo: Ivan Campos

07/08/11 11:18am

NEW HOUSTON STEAK ’N SHAKES READY TO BAKE Thirty years after its first big move into Houston (with 5 locations that didn’t last too long), fast-food burger operation Steak ’n Shake is ready to roll into town in a big way again. Chodrow Realty Advisors’ David Littwitz says he’s been working to get 5 new franchises of the national chain open here soon — 1 this year, and 4 next. A Steak ’n Shake restaurant on FM 1960 at Eldridge has been open for 3 years; a second location on the I-10 feeder at Westgreen in Katy opened last year. [Houston Business Journal; history] Photo: Robert S.

02/11/11 11:32pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE SHOPS AROUND THE CORNER “Where I live, in the Montrose area, I will soon be within a three minute drive of TWO Whole Foods, a brand new HEB, an updated Kroger, another supernice Kroger on West Gray, a Randall’s, a Fiesta, etc. Three of these will be within a 10 minute walk from my house. I’d wager that there are few (no?) other neighborhoods in America offering this kind of variety and abundance. Meanwhile, my fellow Houstonians who happen to live in the 3rd Ward have no real shopping options nearby. They have to drive 10 or more minutes to perhaps suboptimal grocery stores and fresh produce. But there is a plethora of fried and fast food options in their neighborhood. So, when deciding where to eat quickly, McDonalds or the Navy Fried Seafood store seem to be the first choices. I think what Superhouston is implying is a possibly causal relationship between poverty, [poor] health, and a lack of fresh food. The connection is complicated, multi-dimensional, and definitely worth talking about.” [Matt, commenting on Where the Grocery Stores Aren’t]

01/12/11 1:49pm

CORNERING THE BURGER MARKET Helping to balance out the intersection of Highway 6 and West Rd. in Copperfield, currently home to a Wendy’s, a Whataburger, a Chick-fil-A, a Shell station, and 2 banks: Houston’s very first Carl’s Jr. Or the first one here, at least, in about 30 years. The company building the franchise plans to blanket Houston with 40 Carl’s Jr. locations by the end of the decade. Next up: Hwy 6 and S. University Blvd. in Missouri City, and just west of 288 on FM 518 in Pearland. [Cheap Eats in Houston; previously on Swamplot]

11/09/10 7:02pm

How they gonna fit the burgers into those little canisters for the drive-thru? Beck’s Prime has bought the little 4,000-sq.-ft. standalone retail building at 115 W. 19th St. between Heights and Yale, Nancy Sarnoff reports. The 2-story building with the 4-lane detached drive-thru was last used as a Washington Mutual Bank.

07/13/10 3:00pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: IN HOUSTON, DESIGN INSPIRATION IS EVERYWHERE “As a nearby property owner, I must say I’m glad to see something replacing the burned-out building, but I just can’t help but feel this apartment house came out of someone’s Happy Meal.” [kilray, commenting on The Norman’s Replacement Price]