Garden Ridge Store

[IronTiger]

OK, fuzzy memories: I first remember seeing Garden Ridge in Houston in the late 1990s, maybe on I-45 or 290. I understand Garden Ridge is a home décor place now, but this was much more downscale what I remember, like a big ugly building with a pitched roof, almost looking like a huge plant nursery.

Wikipedia confirms that Garden Ridge had downscale roots (in fact, I think the name of it WAS "Garden Ridge Pottery") but did the Garden Ridge Pottery name last into that era?

 

EDIT 2018: After some further research into the issue, what I remember was not in Houston, but rather the "flagship" in Schertz, which closed several years ago.

[Ross]

I bought a ton of stuff at Garden Ridge Pottery on I-10 near Fry before I moved overseas in 1990. The store had been there a while, since some time in the late 80's. Lots of cheap crap. Of course, this was the era where WalMart sold mostly American made stuff, some of which I still ahve 23 years later, particularly kitchen things.

[ChannelTwoNews]

"Garden Ridge Pottery" actually was a further reduction of the original name "Garden Ridge Pottery & World Imports".  Reasonably certain they arrived in Houston in the mid 80s.

 

An old commercial

 (skip to 1:30) shows there were two locations by late 1987 at least. The aerial shot in the clip is actually of the one at the Katy Freeway & Greenhouse/Fry and it's still a Garden Ridge location. During those days and into the recent past even, I think the store would be best described as a Micahels or a similar arts & craft store, that did have plants & pottery as well. I think the emphasis has changed over the years to include more in the way of home furnishings in addition to their staples. Somewhat more upmarket than in the past generally.

 

The one I remember going to as a kid was in Stafford, off the Southwest Freeway near W. Airport in an old Deauville Fashion Mall. I think it was the third of the stores to open in the area, possibly around 1992. Always remember it being packed on Saturdays, partly because it was new but also there just wasn't another store like it in that area at the time. At the holidays, total madhouse. It closed in the late 90s or about 2000 when they opened the new one down the way in Sugar Land.

Edited March 1, 2013 by ChannelTwoNews

[IronTiger]

The building I remember seeing was kind of a dump, I might remember it if I saw a picture. But nope, not those two! The first one they showed is a flea market now (it was originally a sort of mini-mall)

[Stephen]

I remember going to a "Garden Ridge Pottery" in southwest Austin in the early 2000s, when lived there (I moved to Houston in 2002) so the name must have lasted that long anyway.

 

I am not sure I have been in one in the last 6 or 7 years, but yeah, I recall it as a sort of dollar store version of Pier 1.

[Specwriter]

I believe the original Garden Ridge Pottery store was opened in Schertz, Texas (just north of San Antonio on Interstate 35) around 1979. There might have been a subdivision or development there also named Garden Ridge. Everything said so far about the evolution of the products sold there is consistent with what I have been told by friends and acquaintences who have shopped at the stores over the last 30 years.

 

To my best recollection I was only inside a Garden Ridge store once (the original one in Schertz). I lived on the northwest side of San Antonio (near where Taft High School is today). On a return trip to Austin I stopped in to see if I could find a meat grinder. I had decided I could get better ground beef, and at a better price, if I bought round steak and ground it myself. This was true since the H.E.B. near my house frequently had round steaks on sale for less than the price of lean ground beef (which wasn't all that lean really).

 

I bought one of those heavy, cast iron, manual crank models that clamps to the edge of a table. The outer parts are "tinned" so they do not rust but one must still be careful to thoroughly dry the non-tinned parts like the cutting blade, etc. It must have been around 1984 or 85 when I bought the grinder. It is also used to make cranberry sauce and a few other relishes, etc. It works as well as the day I bought it and is definitely not crap although I don't remember it being expensive. If I had to guess today I would say it was about $30-35 then.

[august948]

My wife grew up in Schertz and I went with her to the Garden Ridge there when we were dating in the mid-80's.  It's still there as of last August when we were last in Schertz.  All the Garden Ridges used to have a cafe where you could get cheap food.  We used to go just for the loaded nachos.  They had the cafes until about 8 years ago when they phased them out of all the locations.

[iliketurtles]

*sigh* I remember the cafe. Back in the '90s and '00s, when I HAD to go with my mom, that was the only thing I looked forward to. LOL

[IronTiger]

My wife grew up in Schertz and I went with her to the Garden Ridge there when we were dating in the mid-80's.  It's still there as of last August when we were last in Schertz.  All the Garden Ridges used to have a cafe where you could get cheap food.  We used to go just for the loaded nachos.  They had the cafes until about 8 years ago when they phased them out of all the locations.

I've heard that the merchandise mix arguably changed for the worse after the bankruptcy, and the cafes probably were the first to go (Garden Ridge emerged from bankruptcy in 2005, about the time you claim the cafes were phased out). So, in my "IronTiger looks at the Houston Post" series, here's an ad from the Garden Ridge Pottery World Imports" era (1989). Enjoy!

 

 

 

[SpaceGhost]

I've heard that the merchandise mix arguably changed for the worse after the bankruptcy, and the cafes probably were the first to go (Garden Ridge emerged from bankruptcy in 2005, about the time you claim the cafes were phased out). So, in my "IronTiger looks at the Houston Post" series, here's an ad from the Garden Ridge Pottery World Imports" era (1989). Enjoy!

 

Garden_Ridge.jpg

 

 

My mom LOVED Garden Ridge. She shopped at the one in the old Deauville Fashion Mall in Stafford constantly. We were there so much that one time while she was shopping I went ot the cafe to sit. At the same point a bunch of men in masks ran out of the Sam's Club next door which had just been robbed. It turns out one of my future bosses was actually in Sams when it was being robbed lol.

 

So I'm quite familiar with the chain, and its selection. In my opinion the quality of product selection did go down a bit when the chain emerged from bankruptcy. However since at least the 90's the selection had not really changed. It's mostly a bunch of the same stuff just cheaper quality.