We've done so many old Albertsons stores in Houston, how about something different for a change?
About a month or so ago I went to Victoria (for a job interview, which I didn't get to much disappointment) and while I was there, I sought out their only dead Albertsons. Victoria is an hour or so southwest of Houston (directly off of 59) and it was part of the San Antonio division (not the Houston division), which had stores from Austin to the Mexican border.
The Victoria store closed as part of a 2002 bloodbath that ended the Houston division, the San Antonio division, and generally Albertsons' shot at becoming a coast-to-coast retailer with the Albertsons flag flying from SoCal to Florida, from Seattle to Philadelphia, although if you wanted to be pedantic, it closed later that year. This article notes that Kerrville, Victoria, and New Braunfels were the lone (non-Austin) San Antonio remnants that weren't closed with the 20 in San Antonio and the stores in South Texas, and that did hold true—the New Braunfels and Kerrville stores were sold to H-E-B in 2011 with a College Station store.
I am not sure if Albertsons in Victoria opened as a Skaggs Albertsons or not when it opened in 1977, the same year as the partnership dissolved, but if it did it was a very short time and if it didn't, it sure maintains the exact same model. Stopping in around noon it was not the best part of town but the old Albertsons looked well-maintained for a building shuttered over a decade ago, but upon further examination, the building had been gutted for offices, which was strange because there was no signage on the building at all (not even a number) regarding that. I'm glad no one was there, otherwise it would've raised some questions why I was on the property taking pictures. Note the side entrance (reduced for office use) that was common to Skaggs Albertsons model stores. I have no idea what they were used for specifically. The Florida ones used it for liquor if I recall correctly, and like Texas, distilled spirits are not sold in stores. Unlike Florida, I have determined that publicly traded companies couldn't have liquor stores (explaining why Albertsons had no liquor stores at its peak). Maybe it was for the HBC side.
One more thing for you: Victoria also has a relatively untouched (exterior-wise) Kroger Family Center! This closed in 1986 but spent the next 7 years as three different brands (see my post on Groceteria).
Albertsons really didn't do much to this place up to when it closed. Not counting the recent modifications, the building retain just about all of its original characteristics. After Albertsons closed, this building sat empty until 2007, when it was converted into a call center called StarTek. StarTek closed in 2010, and another call center called Spherion moved in, although they left the building in 2013. I found this article which explains much of this: https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2010/jul/19/am_spherion_072010_104138/
ReplyDeleteDespite the interior being gutted, I am quite pleased to see that the Skaggs model was well-maintained. Often times when these office buildings take over a retail building, they alter much of the facade.
DeleteI imagine that during Albertsons quarter-century stay here they probably did a major upgrade to the original Skaggs layout to the Blue & Gray, but that was probably it.
I worked at Albertsons in Victoria until 2000. After it's closing, it became a call center twice. Then it boarded up for good. It was never a "scaggs" store to my knowledge.
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