Albertsons #2705
7530 Westheimer Road, Houston, TX
Opened: October 18, 1995
Closed: April 2002
What's There Now: DSW, REI
One of the first Houston locations of Albertsons, the Westheimer at Voss location of Albertsons was a bit of an oddity. Albertsons in Houston is remembered as a disaster that would the 2700-series stores, the Houston division stores, to completely vanish except for a handful of stores in Louisiana (today, ironically, part of the Houston division of Albertsons/Safeway). Like what most chains would do, Albertsons decided to start in the suburbs, but it also decided to simultaneously take on more urban areas. While hardly it was "inner city" (it was a few miles out from the Galleria mall and Uptown district, which was just outside the 610 Loop), it had tough competition. Just about half a mile north on Voss, there was a Kroger Signature store (still there), and a bit farther beyond that, a Randalls Flagship (closed and torn down a few years ago for a Whole Foods).
Clearly, the idea of doing battle with entrenched competitors has worried Albertson's, which postponed its Houston invasion for years. Before it pulled the trigger on expansion, the company interviewed hundreds of Houstonians about their shopping preferences. It asked local shoppers if they would accept Albertson's, despite it being a newcomer to Houston and that it is based thousands of miles away in Boise, Idaho.
"We did a lot of research, and people said, 'We don't care where you're from. What are you going to do for us today?' " - Houston Chronicle article from 1995
Of course, we all know the ending to this story, faced with a mountain of debt from the American Stores acquisition, and facing a competitive market, Albertsons pulled out of Houston leaving behind dozens of stores in its wake to be picked up by competitors or simply abandoned. But even in the pre-ASC, more optimistic times, already Albertsons didn't have the size of the Kroger near them or the cachet of Randalls, though it did still have everyday low prices competitive with others and no card (this probably allowed them to replicate in Houston in better times).
The other thing that Albertsons had that its contemporaries didn't was that this wasn't just any street corner, this was Westheimer and Voss, the busiest non-highway intersection in Houston. More than 105,000 cars passed by everyday, and the center where Albertsons was in, the new Westheimer Crossing, was anchored by a Venture, an upscale discounter from the north that was bullish on building stores in Texas.
While Albertsons competed with Randalls and Kroger, Venture competed with Target and Kmart. It was the perfect environment and only Westheimer Crossing had both a large discount store and a supermarket. The Venture didn't last long, however, and closed around 1998. It was not one of the stores that Kmart picked up, as there was a Super Kmart and a Target down the road. With no discount store to replace it, the Venture ended up becoming an Academy. Likewise, Albertsons would have a similar fate. It would close here in 2002 (according to a news article). This particular Albertsons didn't get a replacement grocery tenant, for good reason: H-E-B had just built their first full-line store in Houston just a mile east (the store has since moved to an even bigger location) and of course, Randalls and Kroger had their spots (the Randalls has since been torn down for a Whole Foods, and is right across from a Trader Joe's now).
Albertsons was divided between two new stores, a Linens N Things and a REI sporting goods store (REI is different from Academy, while Academy focuses on things like athletic clothing and a limited supply on fishing and hunting, REI is more outdoors-oriented with mountain climbing and more upscale). Linens N Things went out of business in 2008 and was replaced with a DSW.
I actually went inside the REI in December 2013, and wondered what it must have been like as Albertsons. The backroom (where there was a large sale) didn't have any trace of Albertsons, and frankly, it was a bit hard to get a feel for it when it was half a store (likewise, another trip to an old Albertsons, which I DIDN'T realize was one at the time, happened in March 2014 with the half being a Sprouts that time).
EDIT: I should mention that the facade was completely reconstructed when the two stores came in, originally the entrance (where REI is now) bumped out a bit more.
I have noticed through aerial views that three former Houston Albertsons (this one but also the ones in Cypress and at Jones and Bridgedown, both now split into non-retail businesses) have had new ventilation systems installed since Albertsons closed. Why would they need to have had this done? It's not like the Albertsons were so old they didn't have air conditioning, LOL.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as for the Albertsons at Jones and Bridgedown, it's ironic that had the Albertsons not relocated to 1960 and Eldridge, Kroger would have been unable to buy it because of its proximity to the other two Kroger stores on Jones. Had the original Kroger at Jones and 1960 (now Big Lots) stayed open all along (meaning neither current Kroger on Jones would exist), and that Albertsons never made the silly move of replacing the Jones/Bridgedown store after only five years, the Albertsons at Jones and Bridgedown would have been the perfect spot for Kroger to relocate to.
Isn't it a bit odd that the Food Town (a very small former Food Lion) at Jones and West didn't move to the former Albertsons space? A number of former Albertsons wound up as Food Town. And the Randalls at Jones and West could have easily moved to the Albertsons space (yes Albertsons in both Katy and The Woodlands became relocated Randalls under Safeway) but perhaps Randalls/Safeway declined because this might have hurt the Randalls at Jones and Grant?
Also, why would Safeway have built a new Randalls from scratch on Louetta in Cypress even though the Albertsons across the street was available? That neighborhood seems rich... I could easily picture the Albertsons becoming a Randalls Flagship. Sadly, a huge Kroger is nearby so both the Albertsons and Randalls (which closed in 2005) are now non-supermarket tenants, and very disappointing ones.
I get the feeling the former Albertsons/Kroger at Antoine and Tidwell (if still empty) will become a Food Town to replace the one down the street, which is a former Safeway in a really seedy shopping center.
One other prediction: the Randalls (former Albertsons) in The Woodlands will close. Its twin in Katy has a major remodel, both inside and out, about five years ago when it got the Safeway lifestyle decor. But the Woodlands store I doubt ever got the lifestyle treatment (if so, it was no sooner than 2012, awfully late) and is surrounded by competition. If it closes, I can see Kroger taking the space. The Kroger down the street mysteriously closed a few years back, perhaps in anticipation of the Randalls becoming available. Kroger most likely closed that store in a hurry though because it was in a dying strip center, and to make matters worse, Walmart and H-E-B both opened shiny new stores close by.
What about the panther creek Randall's I can remember being 5 or 6 years old going in there and they did not do a full remodel on that still till 2006 when I graduated high school
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