River Oaks Examiner - News
Economy claims long-time businesses in 2008
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| Bill Morris stands outside Avalon Drug prior to making an unusual move. |
Every year brings its shuffling of old and new businesses. Here are a few of the once familiar enterprises that have moved on this year.
River Oaks Hospital closed in June. Its owner, Hospital Partners of America, a private company based in Charlotte, N.C., shut its campuses at 4200 Twelve Oaks Drive and 6700 Bellaire Blvd.
The two locations offered 500-plus beds and employed about 500 full-time staff members.
Formerly Twelve Oaks Medical Center, River Oaks Hospital had been serving Houston and surrounding communities since 1965. It was purchased by HPA in 2004.
The State Grille, 2925 Weslayan St., served up its last meal in May. The land on which it sat and adjacent lots occupied by small office buildings and miscellaneous surface parking was cleared for future redevelopment by Interfin. The two-acre site is fenced off and a company signs hangs from it but no plans have been announced.
State Grille was the most recent restaurant on the site. Black Angus opened 55 years ago and Betty and Gordon Edge operated it 1993-1999 as the Confederate House before selling it to State Grille restaurateurs Frankie Mandola and Bubba Butera.
Molina’s Cantina in West University Place, a dining fixture at 5227 Buffalo Speedway for 20 years, also closed in May. Its location was part of a shopping center subsequently razed for redevelopment by H-E-B, which plans to build a grocery store on a site that also once held Luby’s Cafeteria.
Ricardo Molina, one of restaurant’s owners, said Molina’s had been “casually looking” for a new home to serve the same market for about three years. Earlier this month, he said they are still looking while operating two other existing locations: 7901 Westheimer Road and 4720 Washington Ave.
The Molina family has operated Houston eateries since 1941.
Buffalo Pharmacy, also in the center razed for H-E-B’s project, closed in November. Its proprietor since 2002, pharmacist Steve King, now can be found in a temporary building on site where he is the managing pharmacist for H-E-B Pharmacy, which bought him out. Buffalo Pharmacy had been an independently owned business since the ‘50s.
Avalon Drug Co. closed in August. Pharmacist-owner Bill Morris, who had run the independent pharmacy for 36 years, said at the time that “a confluence of events” prompted his decision. Morris said insurance “has made it harder” on independent pharmacy operations, which have low profit margins.
He also pointed to leasing rates that are rising due to the plethora of new construction in the Upper Kirby area.
In an unusual move, the CVS at 2910 Westheimer Road absorbed many of Avalon’s practices and accounts, such as the charge and deliver services. Morris assisted with the transition and is a pharmacist with CVS at the Westheimer location.
Matthews Motor Co., an auto mechanic shop in “downtown” West University Place, closed shop and moved after the building in which it operated for decades sold as part of a related shopping center’s sale. Owner Alvin Hurd shifted his business to 4143 West Bellfort.
A big push to find new owners for the so-called Formica House, 5103 South Braeswood Blvd. at South Rice Avenue continues.
It has been under contract several times, but loan issues have now kicked in, said real estate broker Brenda Ames.
“We have so many people trying to buy it, just can’t get the loan,” she said recently.
Houston Mod, an advocacy group promoting preservation of mid-century modern architecture, has been monitoring interest in the unusual home.
Designed by Waller S. Poague and built in 1964, it became a showcase for the many uses of Formica products by its owner, Larry Stephens. He was a local distributor of the newly developed product and other building materials, and his home became a “House of Ideas.”
The house inspired countless interior designers and architects with its ingenious —and generous —use of laminate on just about every interior surface.
The Texas Medical Center’s Hornberger Conference Center, 2151 West Holcombe Blvd., hosted its final nonprofit gala in November.
The center was a vestige of the venerable Shamrock Hilton, which formerly owned the ballroom facility. It was a popular venue for fundraising events by Houston’s nonprofit organizations.
TMC will build 250,000 square feet of office space in three floors to be added atop the Bell building, which also houses the existing parking garage. The added space is to support TMC institutions, he said.
Built in 1965, the Hornberger had been requiring more maintenance, and TMC member institutions have built a lot of their own conference and meeting space over the past 10-15 years, TMC sources said.
Over the years, the ballroom has been the scene of graduations, fund-raising events, education and white coat ceremonies for TMC medical students. Even cattle drives came through its oversized doors ( discretely hidden behind a wall of cascading curtains) when the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo held auctions there.
Several restaurants and food purveyors also closed, including Montrose-area instutions Felix Mexican, 904 Westheimer Road, and Bistro Vino, 819 W. Alabama St., where the patio and ambiance made it a favorite for brides and brunch-seekers.
New biz on the block
A few new ventures with big plans for tapping into the neighborhood markets opened in 2008. Among them:
Costco. At 154,000-square feet, the store at 3836 Richmond Ave. is one of the warehouse club retailer’s largest stores. Another distinction for the site is its two-story format accommodating other tenants. Usually the company’s mega-stores stand alone.
Green Bank. Its business model works to reduce operating resources, create less waste and reward customers who chose environmentally-friendly service options for their accounts.
Its building at 4000 Greenbriar Drive and the Southwest Freeway, meanwhile, is one of Houston’s first LEED-gold registered buildings, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, in Houston.”
River Oaks Hospital closed in June. Its owner, Hospital Partners of America, a private company based in Charlotte, N.C., shut its campuses at 4200 Twelve Oaks Drive and 6700 Bellaire Blvd.
The two locations offered 500-plus beds and employed about 500 full-time staff members.
Formerly Twelve Oaks Medical Center, River Oaks Hospital had been serving Houston and surrounding communities since 1965. It was purchased by HPA in 2004.
The State Grille, 2925 Weslayan St., served up its last meal in May. The land on which it sat and adjacent lots occupied by small office buildings and miscellaneous surface parking was cleared for future redevelopment by Interfin. The two-acre site is fenced off and a company signs hangs from it but no plans have been announced.
State Grille was the most recent restaurant on the site. Black Angus opened 55 years ago and Betty and Gordon Edge operated it 1993-1999 as the Confederate House before selling it to State Grille restaurateurs Frankie Mandola and Bubba Butera.
Molina’s Cantina in West University Place, a dining fixture at 5227 Buffalo Speedway for 20 years, also closed in May. Its location was part of a shopping center subsequently razed for redevelopment by H-E-B, which plans to build a grocery store on a site that also once held Luby’s Cafeteria.
Ricardo Molina, one of restaurant’s owners, said Molina’s had been “casually looking” for a new home to serve the same market for about three years. Earlier this month, he said they are still looking while operating two other existing locations: 7901 Westheimer Road and 4720 Washington Ave.
The Molina family has operated Houston eateries since 1941.
Buffalo Pharmacy, also in the center razed for H-E-B’s project, closed in November. Its proprietor since 2002, pharmacist Steve King, now can be found in a temporary building on site where he is the managing pharmacist for H-E-B Pharmacy, which bought him out. Buffalo Pharmacy had been an independently owned business since the ‘50s.
Avalon Drug Co. closed in August. Pharmacist-owner Bill Morris, who had run the independent pharmacy for 36 years, said at the time that “a confluence of events” prompted his decision. Morris said insurance “has made it harder” on independent pharmacy operations, which have low profit margins.
He also pointed to leasing rates that are rising due to the plethora of new construction in the Upper Kirby area.
In an unusual move, the CVS at 2910 Westheimer Road absorbed many of Avalon’s practices and accounts, such as the charge and deliver services. Morris assisted with the transition and is a pharmacist with CVS at the Westheimer location.
Matthews Motor Co., an auto mechanic shop in “downtown” West University Place, closed shop and moved after the building in which it operated for decades sold as part of a related shopping center’s sale. Owner Alvin Hurd shifted his business to 4143 West Bellfort.
A big push to find new owners for the so-called Formica House, 5103 South Braeswood Blvd. at South Rice Avenue continues.
It has been under contract several times, but loan issues have now kicked in, said real estate broker Brenda Ames.
“We have so many people trying to buy it, just can’t get the loan,” she said recently.
Houston Mod, an advocacy group promoting preservation of mid-century modern architecture, has been monitoring interest in the unusual home.
Designed by Waller S. Poague and built in 1964, it became a showcase for the many uses of Formica products by its owner, Larry Stephens. He was a local distributor of the newly developed product and other building materials, and his home became a “House of Ideas.”
The house inspired countless interior designers and architects with its ingenious —and generous —use of laminate on just about every interior surface.
The Texas Medical Center’s Hornberger Conference Center, 2151 West Holcombe Blvd., hosted its final nonprofit gala in November.
The center was a vestige of the venerable Shamrock Hilton, which formerly owned the ballroom facility. It was a popular venue for fundraising events by Houston’s nonprofit organizations.
TMC will build 250,000 square feet of office space in three floors to be added atop the Bell building, which also houses the existing parking garage. The added space is to support TMC institutions, he said.
Built in 1965, the Hornberger had been requiring more maintenance, and TMC member institutions have built a lot of their own conference and meeting space over the past 10-15 years, TMC sources said.
Over the years, the ballroom has been the scene of graduations, fund-raising events, education and white coat ceremonies for TMC medical students. Even cattle drives came through its oversized doors ( discretely hidden behind a wall of cascading curtains) when the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo held auctions there.
Several restaurants and food purveyors also closed, including Montrose-area instutions Felix Mexican, 904 Westheimer Road, and Bistro Vino, 819 W. Alabama St., where the patio and ambiance made it a favorite for brides and brunch-seekers.
New biz on the block
A few new ventures with big plans for tapping into the neighborhood markets opened in 2008. Among them:
Costco. At 154,000-square feet, the store at 3836 Richmond Ave. is one of the warehouse club retailer’s largest stores. Another distinction for the site is its two-story format accommodating other tenants. Usually the company’s mega-stores stand alone.
Green Bank. Its business model works to reduce operating resources, create less waste and reward customers who chose environmentally-friendly service options for their accounts.
Its building at 4000 Greenbriar Drive and the Southwest Freeway, meanwhile, is one of Houston’s first LEED-gold registered buildings, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, in Houston.”
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