Former Albertsons - Pearland, TX

7121 West Broadway Street • Pearland, TX
A large part of WHY I never ended up posting again was some computer-related issues and some burnout issues, but I'm back, and I'm trying to get stuff in my backlog sent out. The other very large part of why this blog did not become what I wanted it to become is my goal was to get a job in a different city than the one I grew up and went to school in, and that never happened, leading to a mish-mash of whatever I could get. I probably said something like this before, but yes, that is why this blog never worked the way I wanted. I really should post the other stores soon.

Like 2773, this store suffered from a bad location but at first glance, it was supposed to be in a very good location. Exciting things were happening in Pearland, Texas in the early 2000s as a wave of new development was building west of "Old Pearland" closer to 288. There was a Home Depot, a new Kroger, a huge new shopping center, and all manner of new homes. Albertsons must have thought it picked up a pretty sweet spot at Reid and Broadway to build a store and ride the wave of the future in an expanding suburb. After all a Kroger was to the west, and in addition to being the closest supermarket to Old Pearland, it should be better in the future, right? After all, Reid was going to expand north and maybe even connect with the Beltway (presumably to South Wayside Drive, which still is far from connecting to the rest of the 'hood). Wrong. Today, the center with Food Town seems to be in the middle of nowhere with an overdeveloped shopping center on a stub road to the north and to the south, a side road with some of the same rural homes on it that were there since the 1960s.

Pleasantly, the store still retains much of what other sites call "Blue & Green Awnings". It was one of the first store decor packages to use warehouse ceilings. The pharmacy is in the front part of the store, on the far left if you were looking at it from the front. You can see that there was once a much larger collection of health & beauty aids (at least I think that sign's from Albertsons, although the image got cut off), and that has been dramatically downscaled (unfortunately, this seems to have happened in "real" Albertsons stores as well). You can also see they kept the circular check-out stands, too.

Other than that, I got nothing. It was one of four Albertsons Houston stores sold to Grocers Supply Co., which leased them to Food Town. Once again, my camera kind of screws up lighting and contrast making the ceiling look really dark. Don't worry, I'll be upgrading my iPhone soon...

With that said, the question remains--will I get back to posting semi-regularly? Hopefully! Today happens to be the day that it's AFB's off week (which was my intention), and contrary to popular belief, I do have some partially finished posts that I am eager to show off. I'll try to get it at the Sunday two weeks from now.

Former Albertsons #2701 - College Station, TX

January 2011. The Albertsons had been closed for about 13 years by this point.301 S. College Avenue • College Station, TXI originally covered this subject back in 2011 on my other blog, Brazos Buildings & Businesses. This store is a little bit weird. It was #2701, the "first" in the Houston division...though it actually opened in 1992 as an Albertsons after #2702 opened in 1991. It was also #2797. And yet, it was not. Read on.

For those that don't know, this began as a store called "Skaggs Albertsons". One of the more interesting partnerships in supermarket history, Skaggs Drug Centers ran a highly successful group of drug stores. It was only natural that they would team up with a respected (but regional) name to create a chain of large food and drug combos when such a thing was more of a novelty than something expected, and Skaggs Albertsons was born.

Courtesy John Ellisor

The store opened in July 1971 and remained through the years with minimal exterior changes except in the front facade (the side entrance would remain the same, though it was eventually sealed). In the late 1970s, Skaggs and Albertsons split ways, and while Albertsons would rebrand their stores in other markets (San Antonio, Florida, and a few others), Skaggs would keep theirs. A few stores briefly got rebranded to Skaggs SuperCenters, but this store was spared and in November 1979, a full page advertisement in the paper announced that the store would be changing to Skaggs-Alpha Beta, facilitated by buying the Alpha Beta name with purchasing the American Stores grocery chain that same year (it would also change the corporate name to American Stores).

The new "American Stores" company continued to manage this store until it rebranded it as Jewel-Osco in 1991 (giving it a minor renovation in the process). Shortly after, American Stores sold the remaining Jewel-Osco stores in Florida (these were new-builds), Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma to Albertsons, as well as a dry goods distribution center in Oklahoma.

It was soon closed and reopened as an Albertsons, giving it another remodel, the "Blue & Gray Market" as Albertsons Florida Blog calls it. I don't know what the original store number under Albertsons was, as it was opened after 2702 and renumbered as part of the Houston division later in the 1990s.

And so from about 1992 to 1997, Albertsons managed a store on the corner of College and University. However, Randalls, an upscale supermarket further down University, sold its store to Albertsons, causing the small supermarket to quickly be abandoned (it closed in November 1997, according to sources I've heard), and it continued stand for nearly another 15 years, longer than it had been any name. Amazingly, something almost happened that would've prevented that fate.

Albertsons must have had second thoughts about closing down the store, as the store had been popular (24 hours!) despite its obvious age, so in May 2000, they filed plans with the city to re-open the store as Albertsons #2797. This time, the Albertsons would gain a fancy "Albertsons University Market" branding and come complete with a Starbucks and "J.A.'s Kitchen", a deli concept (JA stood for Joe Albertson) that Albertsons played around with for a short while in smaller stores (from what I can tell, it was just the regular deli usually placed in smaller stores or drug sores).

This never got off the ground, obviously, and it remained vacant for over the next decade, despite some plans tossed around for redevelopment. Of course, a vacant building won't last forever, and in 2012, it finally began to come down, with demolition halting for months but continuing about a year later. The north wall stood for a long time, revealing that there was a second floor holding offices. While the demolition was intended for redevelopment, it and about half of the remaining shopping center just ended up becoming a field for a nearby apartment complex located behind the strip center.

An ad from the brief Jewel-Osco days. Note the "Special Supplement to The Eagle" to the left.

There's even a shot of a Sunny Delight bottle as I remember it, before they changed it to "Sunny D" (and later "SunnyD"). Tangy Original was called "Florida Style" and "Smooth" was "California Style".
Other shots, taken January 2011...






Regrettably, I couldn't get any of the interior on that shot, or any other time: the windows were painted over, and my one shot of the interiors was kind of messed up by the flash, and while it did capture some of the interior in a blurry configuration that revealed rows of fluorescents and columns, it mostly created a reflection of me, which, of course, I'm not posting.


Whoa, Albertsons was open 24 hours! Must have been super-convenient, relatively rare (I don't think even H-E-B did when it first opened), and must have been fun to see at night when the bars had closed for the night.


What was left of Albertsons after the first major demo.


The first Christmas at the store.


Albertsons interior. This looks like the "Blue & Gray Interior" (Official Stalworth Picture)


From The Eagle, shortly after the demo began.

Former Randalls #69 - Houston, TX

What luck! We even get a glimpse of the liquor center! (Bing Maps, appears to be c. 2007)2224 FM 1960 West • Houston, TXI started looking into this store after I had heard that this store was closed by Safeway due to its large size (100,000 square feet, supposedly a former Woolco). Well, in reality, it's 80,000 square feet, which is big for a supermarket but not monstrous—Wegmans stores routinely pass the 100k square foot mark, and non-expanded selection Kroger brand/H-E-B stores have gotten to it as well, or very close to it. Even A&P got into that game when it inherited Schwegmann's former "Real Superstore" sites in 1999, which were over 100,000 square feet.

Anyway, I did some more research on this site, even if I can't (yet?) get real pictures (so until then, Bing has to do). Fiesta opened in the Kuykendahl/FM 1960 store in late 1989, and while I couldn't find an exact address or square footage, they made note of it that it was around 80k square feet (not 100k). That Fiesta was bought out in early 1997 by Randalls, when they made an offer for it after their location at North Freeway and FM 1960 wasn't working due to highway widening. What Fiesta took wasn't disclosed, but from articles, it was an offer they couldn't refuse.

The reason why this store closed is also quite murky. It seemed to have opened well into 1998 (possibly due to remodeling to the "Remarkable Store" layout) but it was closed well before Safeway closed "underperforming" stores in 2005 and appears to be (based on Google) locked up tight by 2002. Even if it did survive the 2005 bloodbath, the widening of Kuykendahl (for those new, it's kirk-en-dahl, don't pronounce it as koi-ken-dahl) would've done it in for certain. The widening did take out a smaller building to the left, which I assume was the Fiesta liquor store. It isn't known if it became another liquor store later, but it's vacant in the Bing shot.

Since the original post was made in January 2016, I've done further research on this store, like the fact that it was definitely a Woolco as well as the store number. The only other source I could find on the matter was this City-Data source (was it one of you guys? It sure wasn't me) which discuss the Woolco. It talks about how Randalls didn't open until around 1998, which was partially remodeling but also might speak because of the financial trouble Randalls was in...they sold to KKR first, which then sold them off to Safeway, which of course, caused the chain to go from "Respected market leader" to "On the brink of failure".

That said, there are a number of interesting things about the store. First off, probably a handicap to further development is the extremely narrow alleyway in which goods are delivered, so that a truck would have to either enter from Kuykendahl (northbound only now), wedge itself into the alleyway (and hope no cars or anything were coming from the opposite direction and then go onto the truck ramp. Option two is going all the way from the other side of the shopping center. Most every other big box store in the area (even the former Kmart) either have ample space to turn around, bypass a truck loading, or have a back exit. (Google Maps link)

Another curiosity is that the store appears to have an auto center, with garage bay doors on the Kuykendahl side that aren't for loading purposes. It would make sense in context with a former Woolco but less with a Fiesta, and that carried over to Randalls. If neither of them ended up bricking over the doors and patching that with a bit of stucco, that would lend to reason that that part of the store was sub-leased and operated independently of the stores (I guess that without it, it could've been 100k square feet as originally rumored).

Was it the largest Safeway-owned store to grace the chain? Sources say no...even if it was 100k square feet, there was a 130k square feet Dominick's (former Auchan-turned-Omni) in Bridgewater, Illinois, that closed in the late 1990s, after the one-two punch of being converted to the fancier Dominick's and being sold to a new national company caused many former Omni stores to close for good.

Now, could Randalls take this one back if they wanted? Well, it's certainly not locked up like many of its old locations, but the immediate area seems rather desolate and the loading docks would probably have to be rebuilt at best (reducing the amount of store space). Besides, there's a number other potential better sites in Houston that Randalls could use to re-populate if it wanted, one that's not complicated by dead retail or a dubious access road. A far, far better option would be to build fantastic new-build stores on the fringes of town, though it appears they haven't quite gotten that down either.

Woolco by itself, 1978. The store does not appear to have a garden center.

By 1989, Fiesta anchors a thriving center. It's added what appears to be a liquor store.

Fiesta still draws in the crowds in 1995.

By 2002, Randalls had come and gone.

The liquor store is torn down for widening by the time 2008 rolls around.

Randalls still sits vacant.

Former Albertsons #2726 / Randalls #2671 - Katy, TX

525 South Fry Road • Katy, TX
First, I would like to say welcome back. I know I said 2016, but that's when the blog will be operating again. Let's start by showing off a reverse of our first post ever by showing an Albertsons turned into a Randalls, with pictures and information from October 2015. This has the added benefit of essentially becoming an Albertsons again, although it's just not the same.

I can't figure out when the store opened originally, but it closed in 2002, and the Randalls must have come soon after. I should also note that the facade looks to be significantly modified...in fact, you can even see the original walls (white) coming off the sides of the tan Randalls.

The arrangement was probably unaltered from the original Albertsons, with the florist to the left when you stepped in, then passing by the bakery on the left, the deli on the right, as you headed into produce, then the butcher area in the back (there's also a bread alcove area near here). What I tried to do was do some searching that Albertsons was in control. Besides the "it's just better" branding now common to all the Albertsons Companies brands, the only reference to their once and future parent company was a sign advertising hiring. The gang's all here, from ACME in the northeast to those few remaining Super Saver stores in Utah.

There was a large segment of the floor being replaced, the original tiles were being replaced. I'm guessing the ugly not-white tiles are the ones being replaced, though I can't imagine them even being for Industrial Circus, the late 1990s Albertsons décor with corrugated metal.

The integration with Albertsons seems to be coming along. Quite a few Safeway-branded items were still on the shelf though they were being replaced with Signature in many categories.

One thing I noticed that probably other Safeway/Albertsons watchers may not have noticed is that "Better Living Brands LLC" has the exact same phone number and address as Safeway. Some quick Google searching revealed that Safeway Inc. wasn't surreptitiously renamed, but it was originally a name designed to market Safeway brands like O Organics to other stores, which is why you can find a Flickr picture of O Organics showing up at an Albertsons several years before the merger actually happened.

The other big thing I noticed was that the deli is now selling a lot of Dietz & Watson meats and cheeses (as well as "accessories" like spicy mustard), with the deli counter now about two-thirds Dietz & Watson (Primo Taglio seems like its on the way out, happilly). It seems like Albertsons is taking things with Safeway slowly, which is a good thing, considering how "Albertsons"-izing American Stores was largely a disaster (rebranding Lucky within six months being the big one).

The card is still unfortunately in effect, a lot of "Card Price" signs were out, but there were also a lot of "Everyday" prices too. One hopes that the Remarkable card (compatible with other Safeway cards, but had been around almost a decade before the purchase) will just become a rewards card instead of a necessity. Another "good sign" was a paper bag with just the Randalls name...which I didn't take a picture but I have bags from late 2014 that had ALL the Safeway brands post-Dominick's (Tom Thumb, Randalls, Vons, Pavilions, Safeway) on it, so at least Albertsons is giving the Randalls division an identity.

One of the things I noticed is at least with the drop ceilings, it's surprising how dark the Lifestyle stores really are. Albertsons has not added any additional lighting here.

In terms of features, the store is a bit light on them. It has the "Signature Café" sandwich bar (closed for the day, I came in mid-afternoon) and a soup station, as well as a little area near the front to eat products from the deli or bakery. It does not have a Starbucks Coffee, or any other place to get coffee for that matter. The bakery seems pretty good. I got a donut there for 50¢, and it was 10¢ cheaper than Kroger and didn't make me sick either (I've had terrible luck with Kroger's bakeries).

Now, the big question is, what did the Albertsons look like here when it was open? It's relatively low store number (#2726) and likely part of the "first circle" strategy (planting in the distant small towns orbiting Houston, then going for the throat, H-E-B Pantry did the same thing but to great success) so I would guess that it would be 1996, the same year the distribution center (also located in Katy) did. The only hint I got was the fact was the old floor tiles, which might've been with the "Industrial Circus" décor but I don't really know.

I left with a twinge of disappointment, not because I couldn't find any Albertsons leftovers, but because Randalls seemed to never amount to much anymore, and it was easy to see why rumors of its demise had swirled around for years. Despite the push with big 70k+ square feet "New Generation" stores (of which this one isn't, this was built post-acquisition), stores like this (or worse, former AppleTree conversions) aren't very big, their private brands still seem lacking (even to H-E-B), though to Safeway's credit, I'll take "The Snack Artist" over Kroger's packaging anyday, they still can't yet compete with Kroger on price, and the "lifestyle" décor is just the worst...bland, boring, and generally too dark. No wonder they went on the sale block.

Anyway, I do hope to have a living Albertsons on this site soon, unfortunately, it's a little outside the focus of this blog, technically...

Former Albertsons #2705 - Houston, TX

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.

Bonus Store: The Littlest H-E-B

This post comes from the heels of a trip I took to Houston on Friday. I gotta admit, there was an Albertsons in the area where I went, now serving as a self-storage place. I wanted to get a picture of it, but it was out of the way and I was too embroiled in a four way stop to try to snap a picture of it. Makes me wonder how horrendous the intersection was when both the Albertsons and the Kmart catty-corner were both operating (today, the Kmart serves mostly as the home to "Restaurant Depot").

The subject today is a small H-E-B Pantry store in the Heights. It lost the Pantry name several years ago and now shares the same name as it does with its brethren, except it's a tiny little store that has nothing. Literally nothing. There's a booth for customer service, it has most of your dry dairy goods and a produce department, but no pharmacy, no florist, no seafood counter, no bakery, no tortilla machine, no sushi, no deli! This is the same chain that opened a store with the same name just earlier this month with a full restaurant, a wall of live plants, and 600 types of yogurt. It's as if Wegmans operated stores out of "Super Saver" era Acme storefronts missing most of the departments.

Sadly, once again, I lack interior pictures partly because the interior wasn't all that exciting...it used the same décor package from my c. 2002 store (only with no letters or graphics on the wall, just colorfully painted walls: I'm not sure if it's original to 1997 or not). A white guy in his mid-20s snapping pictures from an iPhone may have attracted some unwanted attention, so we'll have to do with exterior pictures. One of the things that was interesting to me was it's relatively late opening...August 1997, according to a plaque: a full five years after H-E-B started planting Pantry stores in town, and just about three years away from a full-line store opening. The August 1997 date suggests that there was another grocery store from a previous generation here.

Former Albertsons #42XX - Waco, TX

Car window view, because it sure doesn't look like Albertsons on the inside anymore. Here's a different shot with a closer color profile


900 Texas Loop 340 • Waco, TX

This one is kind of weird--many, many years ago, a much younger Pseudo3D was in the north part of Waco around the early 2000s (no later than 2002, but no earlier than 1999) with his mother and his grandfather. The reason has long been forgotten--it was either looking for furniture or house-hunting (probably the latter), but the point is, he was there.

During that time, the boy noticed an odd-looking church called The Church of the Open Door. He knew immediately that it was an old grocery store, after all, an old Winn-Dixie in his town became a Lacks Furniture, but he wasn't sure if it was a Winn-Dixie or not (he should have noticed that there actually was a Winn-Dixie less than a mile away, but we'll forgive him). Years passed, and the church remained, but Pseudo3D never really figured out what the Church took over.

The answer he found was well over a decade later and stumbled upon in an article--it was an old Albertsons, and a very-short lived one at that.

Existing from 1994 to 1997, it was one of the early failures of Albertsons (and a symbol of what was yet to come), even though the late 1990s seemed rather rosy for the rest of the company. By 1998, it had not yet acquired American Stores, which would put many stores into the company's pocket but ultimately spell disaster that it would not fully recover for another 15 years, and would still have stores in nearly every market in Texas.

Losing the grocery store war to Winn-Dixie? For shame!

Waco continued to have an Albertsons, operating a few miles away closer to the center of town, until it was closed in 2006 shortly after the LLC purchase. Because the existence of Albertsons predates the Internet, it's been exceedingly difficult to find a store number for this one.

Former Albertsons #2734 - Conroe, TX

3830 W. Davis St. • Conroe TX
I first noticed this store, now a Kroger, I believe in 2003, on a trip to Baton Rouge, Louisiana with my family. I was immediately drawn to it by the fact that at the time it still had the classic "Loopy K" as I called it (the Loewy-designed logo), which at the time seemed to be disappearing from every Kroger I knew (admittedly, only the Houston division, and of those, primarily the two Kroger stores in College Station). Of course, it "turned" within a few years (block lettering) as well, but one thing about the Kroger was the peculiar "Food" and "Pharmacy" signs that reminded me of Albertsons.

Google Street View

Surprise! It was one just a few years prior, and if I had been paying attention on the 2001 trip, I would have seen it as an Albertsons. Kroger bought numerous Albertsons stores in the greater Houston area, including one from 2001 in Willis (which was later abandoned as it was replaced with a Kroger Marketplace). From tax records, it indicates this one was built in 1996. Things to note include the gas station, which based on the shape was an Albertsons Express gas station (convenience store and all, now operates as Kroger's "Kwik Shop"). There also appears to be a separate entrance to another part of the store, perhaps a bank (not a liquor store)

I've never gone in, so I have no idea if Kroger uses remnants of Albertsons décor package (I wonder if it received new lettering after the renovation that fully "Kroger-ized" it). It was, however, quickly reopened, and for what it's worth, I do remember the lettering being permanent, not a banner hastily covering the Albertsons signage.

If I was just imagining the older logo being on here, please write in and correct me...

Former Albertsons #2701 - College Station, TX (Old Post)

January 2011. The Albertsons had been closed for about 13 years by this point.
#2701
301 South College Avenue
College Station, TX
Opened: 1971 (as Skaggs-Albertsons), 1992 (as Albertsons)
Closed: 1997
Demolished: 2012-2013

This post was originally based on "Skaggs Albertsons / Skaggs Alpha Beta / Jewel-Osco / Albertsons" from Brazos Buildings & Businesses

One of the more interesting partnerships in supermarket history, Skaggs Drug Centers ran a highly successful group of drug stores. It was only natural that they would team up with a respected (but regional) name to create a chain of large food and drug combos when such a thing was more of a novelty than something expected, and Skaggs Albertsons was born.

Courtesy John Ellisor

Located just north of the Texas A&M University campus, Skaggs Albertsons ran a successful store from opening in 1971 on.

Wikipedia says that the partnership dissolved in 1977, but this store (and likely the others in Texas and Florida) did become Skaggs Alpha Beta in 1979 (as the parent company, Skaggs Companies, bought American Stores, and took their name). It went straight from Skaggs Albertsons to Skaggs Alpha Beta, which I can dig up the microfilm to prove. This changeover happened in November 1979.

In 1991, American Stores Inc. rebranded their remaining Alpha Beta stores in the South as Jewel-Osco (a brand bought in 1984), which was strange since the rest of the Jewel-Osco stores were states away. This set-up didn't last too long, and in 1992, they sold the stores to Albertson's Inc., which would reopen the stores as Albertsons.

Albertsons had a location in College Station opened just a year prior several miles away, but College Station's second Albertsons didn't last long (why it had 2701 even though it opened after 1991 is a mystery to me...perhaps the original 2701 was cancelled, or it was renumbered?). Despite being a 24 hour location and working off a huge base of college students, in November 1997, this store closed and would be replaced by a new store in a former Randall's, and the store was left to ruin. It wasn't until 2012 until demolition began and today, the building's footprint (as well as some adjacent store spaces) is greenspace for a nearby apartment complex.

In that time, Albertsons had grown even more (if briefly), before selling itself off in 2006, dashing the last of the Skaggs legacy by disposing of its drug store chains, pulling out of numerous markets, and getting to close to buying back the stores it sold off to SuperValu.

This concludes the Albertsons in the Bryan/College Station area. There's still Safeway to go but while I still plan on featuring a very old Safeway in less than a few weeks, I'm holding off on any further old Safeway stores until the merger closes, and enough to feature more Albertsons.

The Brazos Buildings & Businesses link (and link back to the main University Square article) has more info on the stores surrounding it and even a few shots (collected) of demolition, as well as further shots poking around the exterior (like the signage where it explains that the pharmacy records have been moved to their original College Station store, and not the store it quickly reopened as a replacement (the old Randalls).


What was left of Albertsons after the first major demo. For a time you could see where a second-level office mezzanine was.


The first Christmas at the store.


Albertsons interior. This looks like the "Blue & Gray Interior" (Official Stalworth Picture)


From The Eagle, shortly after the demo began.