Tag: Franchises and Chain Stores

Franchises and Chain Stores, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Sugar Land, Telfair

11 Comments

That slow-to-develop retail district on the old prison farm in Sugar Land, rehabilitated into The Crossing at Telfair, appears to be locking up a new occupant. This sign, says the reader who snapped the photo, recently popped up behind the Whataburger and the H-E-B on Hwy. 6, just to the north along University Blvd. of the site where that new 6,500-seat performance hall is planned to be built. No opening date for the Austin Tex-Mex chain has been announced, though the Sugar Land Sun reports that the place should be good to go by the end of the year.

The Crossing at Telfair [Rubicon Realty]
Houston Area Locations [Chuy’s]
Chuyâ€™s to open Sugar Land Telfair location by end of 2013 [Sugar Land Sun]
Previously on Swamplot: What Sugar Landâ€™s New Performance Hall Might Look Like, Sugar Land Officially Released from Prison

Photo: Swamplot inbox

77479, Fort Bend County, Franchises and Chain Stores, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Sugar-Land, Telfair

New Construction

07/11/13 11:10am

UH McDonald’s: Your Order Is Almost Ready

Restaurants, University of Houston

2 Comments

A reader sends photo of the construction progress of the replacement McDonald’s near the corner of Elgin and Cullen on the University of Houston campus. The McDonald’s that used to stand here was torn down in early June. A regional rep says that this new one should be ready by the time classes resume.

Previously on Swamplot: No More Golden Years for the U of H Golden Arches, Daily Demolition Report: Gone Underground, Growing Up With McDonaldâ€™s

Photos: Thomas Heinold

77004, Franchises and Chain Stores, New Construction, Restaurants, University of Houston

Eminent Domain

06/12/13 12:05pm

TxDOT Says No Mor Chicken, Need Mor Road

Freeways and Toll Roads, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Transportation, Webster

11 Comments

The 11-year run is coming to an end: According to a letter signed by franchise operator Charles Gibson and posted in the store’s window, June 14 will be the last day for this Webster Chick-Fil-A. The letter explains that TxDOT has purchased the property with plans to expand I-45. Across that freeway from the Baybrook Mall, this Chick-Fil-A is the northernmost chain of that cluster of â€™em accessible via the feeder from Bay Area Blvd.

Welcome! [Chik-fil-A Restaurant Bay Area Blvd.]
TxDOT stories [Swamplot]

Photo: Panoramio user MrQuick

77598, Eminent Domain, Franchises and Chain Stores, Freeways, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, TXDOT, Webster

Demolitions

06/07/13 10:00am

No More Golden Years for the U of H Golden Arches

Franchises and Chain Stores, Restaurants, Third Ward, University of Houston

4 Comments

It would seem that McDonald’s has resolved the steelyÂ staring contest between these 2 signs from 2 different eras, having gone ahead andÂ ushered out the old restaurant here on Elgin and Cullen near theÂ U of H campus to put up a brand-new one, a regional rep from the company confirms. No renderings of the next generation are available yet, but the rep says that it should be open in time for the fall semester.

Previously on Swamplot: Daily Demolition Report: Gone Underground, Growing Up With McDonald’s

Photo: Allyn West

77004, Demolitions, Franchises and Chain Stores, New Construction, Restaurants, Third Ward, University of Houston

06/06/13 3:00pm

Fleshing Out Willowbrook’s Dining Options

Openings and Closings, Quicklink, Restaurants, Willowbrook

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FLESHING OUT WILLOWBROOK’S DINING OPTIONS Rivals in that niche sports-and-cleavage market Twin Peaks and Hooters will have a bit more competition starting today, reports Eater Houston, and this from the only restaurant that’s legally allowed to call itself a “breastaurant:” Bikinis Sports Bar and Grill — which in April trademarked the term — opened its first location last month in The Woodlands; this new one will be at the former Burger Girl at 17117 Tomball Pkwy. near the Willowbrook Mall. And what, you might wonder, sets Bikinis apart? It might be the food: “In addition to traditional American bar-and-grill fare and cocktails and microbrews,” reports the Houston Business Journal, “Bikinis offers its Big Bucking Burger. Customers can win a T-shirt if they finish the $24.95 five-pound burger on their own.” [Eater Houston; Houston Chronicle; Houston Business Journal] Photo: Bikinis Sports Bar and Grill

77064, Bars, Franchises and Chain Stores, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Willowbrook

06/04/13 10:30am

Il Palazzo del Donuts in Humble, and Other Dunkin’ Domains

Humble, IAH, Montrose, Openings and Closings, Pasadena, Restaurants, Retail, Westchase

3 Comments

Dunkin’ Donuts announced yesterday where it’ll be sprinkling 4 new stores across Houston. This rendering shows the standalone planned for 18315 W. Lake Houston Pkwy. in Humble. There’ll also be a location inside IAH’s Terminal E, one at 4130 Fairmont Pkwy. in Pasadena, and another, as suspected, at the renovatedÂ former Arby’s at 2330 S. Shepherd and Fairview. Last month, the chain opened the first of a reported 24 stores planned for the Houston area at 10705 Westheimer in Westchase.

Dunkin’ Donuts names next four Houston locations [Houston Business Journal]
Previously on Swamplot: Dunkinâ€™ Donuts Opening Next Month in Westchase Strip Center, The First Inside-the-Loop Dunkinâ€™ Donuts?, Maybe the Westchase SmashBurgerâ€™s Successor Will Do Better, Dollars to Donuts, Dunkinâ€™ Donutsâ€™ Big Texas Push, Dunkinâ€™ Donuts Coming Back to Bellaire

Rendering: Rogue Architects via Houston Business Journal

77019, Franchises and Chain Stores, Humble, Montrose, Openings and Closings, Pasadena, Restaurants, Retail, Westchase

Briar Forest

04/15/13 10:00am

Look What’s Sprouting on Westheimer and Kirkwood

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Kirkwood, Memorial, Openings and Closings, Retail, Shopping Centers

2 Comments

Note: Story updated with new photos.

An update comes in from reader Nicole Sherman, who saw this bare facade-to-be and fruity Sprouts Farmers Market sign at the end of last week and snapped these photos: Filling in for the former Sports Authority in the Kirkwood Shopping Center at 11940 Westheimer, this will be the 4th Sprouts in Houston and the farthest in, only 2 miles beyond the Beltway. In October, the green grocer revealed the first 3 locations it would open in Houston this year:

77077, Briar Forest, Franchises and Chain Stores, Grocery Stores, Memorial, Openings and Closings, Retail, Shopping Centers

Buying and Selling

02/20/13 4:15pm

Office Monopoly

Commercial Real Estate, Franchises and Chain Stores, Quicklink, Strip Centers

8 Comments

OFFICE MONOPOLY Note: Story has been updated. Houston Business Journal reports thatÂ Office Max and Office Depot are combining into one global office force to be reckoned with. The $1.17-billion, all-stock deal between the two big-box paper pushers is expected to create a single company — with less overhead and less overlap, too, you’d thinkÂ — that’sÂ worth $18 billion. Also, theÂ Houston Chronicle‘s Nancy Sarnoff reports that developerÂ Ed Wulfe says that “9 or 10 of the 40 Office Depots and 19 Office Maxes in greater Houston are close enough to each other that one will have to close.” One of those, pictured here, is located in the strip center at Richmond and Kirby. [Houston Business Journal; Prime Property]Â Photo: Panoramio user Wolfgang Houston

Buying and Selling, Commercial Real Estate, Franchises and Chain Stores, Quicklink, Retail, Strip Centers

Comments

08/06/12 2:49pm

Comment of the Day: You’ll Remember the Chicken

Franchises and Chain Stores, Quicklink, Restaurants

22 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: YOU’LL REMEMBER THE CHICKEN “All of you are completely missing the forest for the trees. What we have witnessed in the last week is one of the most brilliant marketing campaigns in the U.S. A restaurant chain that is pretty much concentrated in one corner of the U.S. has obtain national notoriety. Chik-fil-a the company already has and will continue to have a non-discrimination policy in regards to sexual orientation (i.e. they donâ€™t discriminate against homosexuality). The president of the company being interviewed and making the statements that started all this was a calculated move. Chik-fil-a knew there would be a backlash and big support along with controversy. For all those anti-chik-fil-a posts in the social media, Chik-fil-a thanks you. Any publicity is good publicity. Because of these events (which the majority will forget in a couple of months), the name chik-fil-a will stick in a vast new audience that never heard of the chain. And all this will little marketing dollars spent. This is playing right into Chik-fil-aâ€™s planned expansion across the U.S. Again, Chik-fil-a thanks all hate filled posts in the social media world. You just helped get itâ€™s name out while knowing the masses wonâ€™t remember the controversy.” [kjb434, commenting on Headlines: Finding Ribs at Park Memorial; More Business for Chick-fil-A]

Comments, Fast Food, Franchises and Chain Stores, Restaurants

Financing

07/12/12 3:21pm

Chuy’s Enchiladas To Devour, Share

Financing, Franchises and Chain Stores, Restaurants

Quicklink, Restaurants

12 Comments

CHUY’S ENCHILADAS TO DEVOUR, SHARE For $10.49 plus tax and tip, you could order the Elvis Presley Memorial Combo at one of the 7 Houston-area Chuy’s. Or for $11 to $13, you could buy a share of the restaurant’s stock at its impending IPO (if you can get in, of course). The regional Mexican-restaurant chain, which was bought in 2006 by a New York private-equity firm, grew from 8 locations in 2007 to 32 this year. The company plans to use the $75 million it hopes to raise in the offering to pay off debts, terminate an agreement with an advisory group, and open more than 50 additional locations over the next 4 years. [TM Daily Post] Photo of Chuy’s at 9350 Westheimer: Happy Family Travels

Comments

06/25/12 11:36pm

Comment of the Day: A Dedicated Fan’s Spring Burger Report

Franchises and Chain Stores, New Construction, Quicklink, Restaurants, Spring

8 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: A DEDICATED FAN’S SPRING BURGER REPORT “Carlâ€™s Jr is about to open another factory of deliciousness in Spring, TX, corner of hwy 249 and Louetta Rd. built from the ground up, it started about two months ago, and just last week they hung the signs, no word on when it opens. Iâ€™ve submitted pictures to Swamplot, they might publish them soon.” [Sweetmocha, commenting on Burger Chains Ready Attack on Houston: Carlâ€™s Jr., Smashburger, Five Guys] Photo: Sweetmocha

77070, Comments, Fast Food, Franchises and Chain Stores, New Construction, Restaurants, Spring

Houston Heights

06/15/12 12:48pm

Torchy’s Tacos Taking Harold’s Old Corner Spot in the Heights

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Proposed Developments, Redevelopment, Restaurants, Retail

23 Comments

Austin’s Torchy’s Tacos chain will be opening a restaurant in the former Harold’s in the Heights retail space at the southeast corner of 19th St. and Ashland, according to a flyer advertising a new development planned for the former clothing store and connected space. Harold’s closed last year after operating for 61 years at 350 W. 19th St. The flyer says Braun Enterprises — which bought the fifties-mod property from the family of Harold Wiesenthal last September — has already executed the lease with Torchy’s, which is shown taking up 3,340 sq. ft. in the corner spot. The development includes an additional unleased 7,260 sq. ft. of ground-floor space imagined as a cafe and 3,000 more sq. ft. upstairs shown as a dental office in the flyer.

77008, Franchises and Chain Stores, Houston Heights, Redevelopment, Restaurants, Retail

06/07/12 11:26am

Houston Pinkberry No. 3: Across from Central Market

Highland Village, Openings and Closings, Quicklink, Restaurants, Retail

3 Comments

HOUSTON PINKBERRY NO. 3: ACROSS FROM CENTRAL MARKET On the occasion of the opening of the Houston area’s second Pinkberry (in the Woodlands Mall, tomorrow), the frozen-yogurt franchisor is announcing its first inside-the-loop location: next to Walgreens, across the street from Central Market in the retail building formerly occupied by Village Kids and Janie and Jack — at 3838 Westheimer. The first area Pinkberry (pictured at right) opened last year off the Gulf Fwy. in Webster. Photo: Tone N.

77027, Franchises and Chain Stores, Highland Village, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Retail

04/25/12 1:48pm

Growing Up with McDonald’s