10/23/14 12:00pm

Cabela's Store in Buda, Texas

Cabela's Store in Allen, TexasWhat should League City expect with the first Houston-area Cabela’s, set to open in a year’s time near the Big League Dreams Sports Park off the Gulf Fwy. and Big League Dreams Pkwy.? All the wonders of wildlife and its stalkers brought indoors, for your perusal and entertainment. That means vast arrangements of deceased but realistic-looking animals mounted in museum-like displays, a “gun library” where you’ll be able to check out the latest in classic, antique, collectible, or just plain hoard-able firearms, an indoor archery range, a fudge shop, and other tourist attractions. Plus, for local flatlanders who may never have seen one, an actual mountain replica. All displayed as it should be, in a big-roofed, fully air-conditioned space not far from Kohl’s and H-E-B.

At 72,000 sq. ft., the store will only be one-third the size of the chain’s behemoth in Fort Worth, but it’ll be bigger than the outposts in Waco and Lubbock. A company press release says the store will feature log construction, as well as other outdoorsy-store mainstays such as metal roofing, wood siding, and stone add-ons.

Photos of Buda (interior) and Allen (exterior) stores: Cabela’s

Outdoors Indoors
10/16/14 4:30pm

REPORTS: BOCONCEPT ON WESTHEIMER WILL BE CLOSING DOWN SOON BoConcept, 4302 Westheimer Rd., Highland Village, HoustonMultiple sources tell Swamplot that the 13,525-sq.-ft. lot at the northwest corner of Westheimer Rd. and Mid Ln. that’s currently home to the BoConcept furniture store is in the process of being sold, and that the store will shut down in a few weeks. The 9,513-sq.-ft. building at 4302 Westheimer Rd., just west of the Highland Village Shopping Center, was built in 2003 as Surprises. Photo: BoConcept

10/10/14 12:30pm

Westbury Centerette, 10901-10925 Chimney Rock Rd. at West Bellfort, Westbury, Houston

Westbury Centerette, 10901-10925 Chimney Rock Rd. at West Bellfort, Westbury, HoustonA 38,000-sq.-ft. LA Fitness gym and health club and a larger separate multi-level parking garage are planned for the site of the Westbury Centerette, a vacant early-sixties shopping center on West Bellfort St. just east of Chimney Rock. The development would take up the entire block surrounded by West Bellfort, Chimney Rock, Cedarhurst Dr., and Moonlight Dr. — except for the AutoZone and WingStreet at the southwest corner. Plans submitted to the city show the LA Fitness backing up to Moonlight Dr. and facing a row of parking accessed from West Bellfort; the 263-space garage would sit at the corner of Chimney Rock and Cedarhurst:

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Muscle Building
10/09/14 2:45pm

THE NEW H-E-B AT SAN FELIPE AND FOUNTAINVIEW WILL TAKE OVER WHERE LUPE TORTILLA’S SANDBOXES LEFT OFF Rendering of New H-E-B Market, Fountainview Dr. and San Felipe Dr., HoustonFormer Haven chef and now JCI (James Coney Island) and H-E-B consultant Randy Evans drops a few notable details about the new H-E-B now under construction at the corner of San Felipe and Fountain View, where he’s helping create the chain’s first Houston in-grocery-store restaurant: “We’re looking at beer and wine for this store. There’s going to be a great patio and a stage for live music. There’s going to be an [outdoor] area for the kids to play so you can sit and have a glass of wine, have some bites and have your kids have a good time before you go shopping.” The store is scheduled to open in January. [Eating Our Words; previously on Swamplot] Rendering: H-E-B

10/09/14 2:00pm

Pink's Pizza, 1009 Moy St., Washington Corridor, Houston

How close to opening is the Pink’s Pizza going into the former laundromat building at 1009 Moy St. off Washington Ave, a mere 14 months after construction began? Nose-to-the-window close: “There’s even beer names over the beer taps!” reports a reader who’s been monitoring the progress of the end space as well as the neighboring fitness-gear shop. The toned folks behind Below Parallel beat their pizza-facing competitors next door to the start line, opening for business at the beginning of September. Pink’s, though, still has a bit more work to do:

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Your Order in 14 Months or Bust
10/08/14 12:30pm

2 CORNER BANK BUILDINGS BANISHED FROM BANKING FOREVER Former Washington Mutual Bank Building, 7019 Barker Cypress Rd., Cypress, TexasThis 3,848-sq.-ft. former WaMu at the intersection of Barker Cypress Rd. and FM 529 Rd. has been vacant and on the market for a good 5 years now. It’s surrounded by parking spaces on a 1.152-acre lot and features a spacious 5-lane drive-thru in back. Along with a twin structure at the intersection of Louetta Rd. and N. Eldridge Pkwy. (also for sale), the Cypress building has been forcibly retired from its banking career. Chase Bank, which bought up all the Washington Mutual corner-bank leftovers, spat out locations like these it considered too close to existing Chase banks — with restrictions to prevent another bank from moving in. A few more restrictions potential buyers of the structure at 7019 Barker Cypress Rd. will want to note: You can’t put a burger joint, a nail salon, a hair salon, or a dentist’s office in there either, because any of those (as well as a few other uses) would duplicate the offerings of establishments in the adjacent Signature Kroger shopping center from which the pad site was spun off. Still-asking price: $1.1 million. [The Weitzman Group]

10/07/14 2:00pm

Van Loc Restaurant, 3010 Milam St., Midtown, Houston

Notice Posted in Van Loc Restaurant, 3010 Milam St., Midtown, HoustonLongtime (and formerly late-night) Midtown Vietnamese mainstay Van Loc has announced it will be shutting down soon after 28 years in business. The restaurant’s owners have posted a note (shown at right) letting customers know of its plans, but have not announced a closing date. The freestanding restaurant building and its parking lot sit on the southern portion of the Midtown block at 3010 Milam St., between Rosalie St. and Anita, a block north of Elgin St.

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Making Vermicelli History
10/07/14 12:00pm

BIGGER GALLERIA APPLE STORE FOR BIGGER IPHONES OPENS THIS WEEKEND Apple Store Closed for Construction, Houston Galleria, HoustonOnly a few weeks after beginning sales of a pair of embiggened iPhones, Apple is ready to unveil its latest enlargement: the newly expanded Galleria Apple Store. That’s it hiding on the second level in the photo at left, behind the 60-ft.-long black wall. A grand reopening is scheduled for this Saturday. The store moved to a temporary location over the summer to allow for the widening, described in detail here. [Previously on Swamplot] Photo: David Ruiz

10/06/14 5:15pm

Georgia's Market Downtown, 420 Main St. at Rusk St., Downtown Houston

The number of grocery-store-type places open Downtown is down by one: Georgia’s Market, the cafe-and-bar-with-staples at the corner of Rusk and Main St., shut down at the end of last month. A note on the door at 420 Main St. informs customers that the 3-year-old establishment has closed for some sort of “revamp,” and refers patrons to the company’s website for “days open and future plans.” But the website isn’t much more helpful. “Thank you all for your past patronage and healthy intentions. Please stay tuned to further development at the Downtown location,” it notes dryly. The Georgia’s Market Memorial Village (now at 9201 Katy Fwy. at Piney Point; the one at Dairy Ashford closed) remains open.

Photo: EaDo Life

10/03/14 12:45pm

LAST EDIBLE PIECE OF THE HANOVER RICE VILLAGE’S RETAIL FOOTPRINT FINALLY OPENS THIS WEEKEND Cyclone Anaya's Mexican Kitchen, 5214 Morningside Dr., Rice Village, HoustonIt may have taken some time to weld all those custom steel bow windows, but the Cyclone Anaya’s Mexican Kitchen on the east side of the Hanover Rice Village apartment complex between Cloud 10 Creamery and Punk’s Simple Southern Food, is at last ready for its enchilada debut. The restaurant’s official opening is scheduled for this Sunday. The first Cyclone Anaya signs were spotted at the 5214 Morningside Dr. storefront last September. [Previously on Swamplot] Photo: Swamplot inbox

10/01/14 2:30pm

Shepherd Corner Shopping Center, 3102-3120 S. Shepherd Dr., Westlawn Terrace, Houston

Shepherd Corner Shopping Center, 3102-3120 S. Shepherd Dr., Westlawn Terrace, HoustonAccording to several sources, a new CVS Pharmacy is planned for the southwest corner of S. Shepherd Dr. and West Alabama St., across the street from the Trader Joe’s in the Alabama Shopping Center. The owners of Roeder’s Pub, Oaks Cleaners, Ruchi’s Taqueria El Rincon de Mexico, and Neon Nail received notice from the landlord of the Shepherd Corner shopping center in late August that their leases would be terminated by the end of November.

Patrons of Oaks Cleaners at 2103 West Alabama St. are being referred to the company’s 2 other locations (the closest is in the Avalon Place shopping center on Westheimer at Bellmeade); Roeder’s Pub, at 3116 S. Shepherd Dr., is searching for a new spot. The shopping center is notable for its site plan, which has businesses fronting S. Shepherd Dr. and has its parking lot in the back, accessed from West Alabama St.

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Last Call for Roeder’s Pub
09/24/14 4:45pm

Gibbs Boats, 1110 West Gray St. at Montrose Blvd., North Montrose, Houston

How cool is it that a boat store with metal siding and a groovy sixties-era sign stood at the corner of West Gray and Montrose Blvd. for 56 years? Well, pieces of the iconic Gibbs Boats sign floated away after the last hurricane; if the property sells, the store won’t be around much longer either.

The giant for-sale sign that went up on the storefront windows yesterday has drawn a bit more attention from potential buyers than the online listing for the 24,925-sq.-ft. L-shaped property, which has been posted for about a month now. The listed asking price is $150 per sq. ft. of land.

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Setting Sail
09/22/14 12:00pm

Sparrow and the Nest, 1020 Studewood St., Woodland Heights, Houston

Sparrow and the Nest, 1020 Studewood St., Woodland Heights, HoustonOh, don’t worry too much about that for-sale sign out in front of the shop, note the owners of Sparrow and the Nest: “The shop remains open and we will be keeping regular business hours,” reads a note on the boutique’s blog. Expect just a few interruptions, maybe, commensurate with a non-stop open house atmosphere for the 1,344-sq.-ft. 1920 bungalow duplex at 1020 Studewood St. that Stephanie and Andrew Lienhard renovated a few years ago for their handcraft-retail venture — like last month’s week-long closure to paint the floors.

The residential listing posted over the weekend for the 2-bedroom, 1-1/2 bath structure calls it completely updated (there’s an ACK! mural on the side fence), and is asking $595,000. If and when the property sells, the Lienhardts plan to reduce the “retail aspect” of the business while growing its online presence. A smaller version of the boutique is planned for an unspecified location “a few blocks down the road.”

Photos: Houston Makerspace/Samantha Roberts (front); HAR (interior)

Bungalow Shop for Sale
09/18/14 10:30am

THIS COULD BE THE END OF THE HEIGHTS POST OFFICE Heights Finance Station Post Office, 1050 Yale St., Houston HeightsNote: This story has been updated. Late yesterday the US Postal Service announced it is “considering relocating the retail services” from the Heights Finance Station at 1050 Yale St. Under the proposed plan, retail services at the single-story building, which sits on more than an acre of land bounded by Yale, 11th St., and Heights Blvd. would be moved to the T.W. House Carrier Annex at the corner of Bevis and 19th St. in Shady Acres. Does the the announcement mean the Yale St. facility will be closed or sold? “Since the relocation of the station is still in the consideration phase and no final determination has been made, there is no available information about the future of the building,” local USPS spokesperson Dionne Montague tells Swamplot. If you’re seeking better answers, you might want to attend Monday’s planned public meeting on the topic, set for 5 pm at the city hall annex downtown. A 15-day official public comment period will follow the meeting. Photo: Swamplot inbox

09/16/14 1:30pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: FULLY QUALIFIED TO BRING YOU BEER BY TRICYCLE WHILE YOU SHOP Whole Foods Market Tricycle“I submitted my résumé for the position. As an expedition touring cyclist I think I’m qualified to make a few rounds within 55k sq. ft. toting clanging bottles of beer. Instead of wearing weather resistant gear I think I’ll gladly don tweed knickers and a driving cap to look the part. Here’s to 1mph in the meat section. Wish me luck Houston. I ride with the wind.” [Rider of Rohan., commenting on Galleria Whole Foods Market Opening November 6, Will Include Austin-Import Beer-on-a-Trike] Illustration: Lulu