sevfiv Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 went by a few days ago, and work is progressing. and yeah - they are coming in from...behind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 went by a few days ago, and work is progressing. and yeah - they are coming in from...behind. I ate at Tony Mandola's Gulf Coast Kitchen last night with the family. Yummy red snapper. I noticed that Sherlock's has moved to the Northside of the block. I wonder what is going into the old space? Also, we all commented on how the center used to be so much more interesting with the Wilderness Equipment, Cotton Club, Birraporreti's, and other more local establishments than the current line-up of a Gap, California Pizza Kitchen, and the coming Barnes and Noble. It is becoming anywhere USA very quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Native Montrosian Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 If WR has tripled the rent on tenants there like they did to my insurance agent with his tiny neighborhood storefront, nothing but chain franchises with deep pockets will be able to afford it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 I ate at Tony Mandola's Gulf Coast Kitchen last night with the family. Yummy red snapper.I noticed that Sherlock's has moved to the Northside of the block. I wonder what is going into the old space?Also, we all commented on how the center used to be so much more interesting with the Wilderness Equipment, Cotton Club, Birraporreti's, and other more local establishments than the current line-up of a Gap, California Pizza Kitchen, and the coming Barnes and Noble. It is becoming anywhere USA very quickly.There's a California Pizza Kitchen there? Is that new?I suspect Weingarten would prefer the national chains. Remember they drove out One's a Meal for not being "upscale" enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 There's a California Pizza Kitchen there? Is that new?it's where the Birraporetti's used to be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkultra25 Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 I suspect Weingarten would prefer the national chains. Remember they drove out One's a Meal for not being "upscale" enough. I'm still chapped about the loss of that One's A Meal. Now instead of a great place to eat with a long history in Houston, we have dueling Starbucks facing each other across W. Gray. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Native Montrosian Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 Give 'em time - they'll probably rip out the other curve for a Borders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 What's up with having two Starbucks at opposite sides of the street? Is there enough demand for Starbucks to support two separate stores across from each other? I know I'll never go there. Starbucks actually charges for wireless internet!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 (edited) yep - both are busy stores. reminds me of the movie "Best in Show" when the neurotic couple tells how they met after they noticed each other for a period of time from starbucks that were across the street anyhow, imo there are many more choices of coffee in houston - i don't bother with starbucks Edited August 30, 2007 by sevfiv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Native Montrosian Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 Think one is sit-down and one is drive-through only; not sure which is which. If the drive-through is on your side of the street and you exit to proceed in the same direction, it could be convenient, but I wouldn't want coffee bad enough to fight across West Gray traffic during rush hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 Damn. I had forgotten about Biba's Ones-A-Meal being in that center.Back in the 80s, we used to love to go the midnight shows at the Landmark RiverOaks Theater and then head to Biba's for food at 3 a.m. It never was the same when it moved to Memorial Drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 (edited) the starbucks on the south side of West Gray is the one without the drive-through and has indoor/outdoor seating. the one on the north side has outdoor seating - can't remember anything about the inside though. Edited August 30, 2007 by sevfiv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 Yeah there are so many choices for good coffee and free wireless internet too! I had to wait for somebody in the Medical Center in a Starbucks, and I brought my laptop thinking I would get some work done while I wanted, but they wanted me to pay $6 to use the internet, even for only one hour!Back on topic... I bet the Barns and Noble they are planning will have it's own Starbucks. So that would be three Starbucks in the same shopping center! They might as well just build a Starbucks on every corner so that you'll never have to walk/drive more than one block to get to a Starbucks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Native Montrosian Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 Maybe they can get the old Pilgrim Cleaner's jingle - "If you can't find a Starbuck's in 10 minutes, you're lost!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highway6 Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 What's up with having two Starbucks at opposite sides of the street? http://www.amazon.com/End-Universe-Lewis-Black/dp/B00006GNP9 http://www.gergltd.com/users/isaac.gerg/starbucks/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porchman Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 (edited) Channel 13 is reporting that the bulldozers move in Tuesday. http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=...&id=5632401 Edited September 4, 2007 by Porchman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimberlySayWhat Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 The guy who did the "Astrowhirl" film (I think that's what it's called) is also documenting the distruction of this with his camcorder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=...&id=5632401 why oh why did this person have to be on site when the tv crew was there? "I was just commenting on the style, the art deco or whatever it is," said resident Mike Ballantyne. "The other ones over there, too, with the curved thing. It's too bad. But I guess it's progress...sort of." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Native Montrosian Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 For the same reason that national news crews can only find backwoods yahoos with missing teeth whenever they do a story in Texas. I think they have a guy on staff that they bring along and put in different clothes/hairpieces. My husband and I were in Galveston yesterday and went to Murphy's Pub for a pint. He commented to the barkeep that it was nice to still have someplace where he could enjoy a quiet pipe along with his Guinness, even thought he had to drive 50+ miles to do it. Another bar parton overheard and remarked that he was glad he didn't live in a place where city council could tell thousands of business owners what to do on their own premises, but couldn't do anything about one bulldozer-happy developer destroying historic properties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texas911 Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 RIP. At least its not another crappy red tile spanish colonial development. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porchman Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 They've started on the back. There's video on Channel 2's main page.http://www.click2houston.com/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lgg Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 I filed this with the Chron:http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5106106.htmlThe demolition was especially awful because it didn't look as though the building had been salvaged. Schoolhouse light fixtures are (as of this afternoon) still hanging in the old Black-Eyed Pea site. Through an office window over Jos. A. Banks' old space, I saw a mid-century aluminum chair. The backhoe mangled it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jb4647 Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 Has anyone considered a fundraising drive to buy the River Oaks/Alabama Theaters from Weingarten outright? These little protests/boycotts/meetings/delicate flower sessions are not doing a thing. Seems to me the only thing that Weingarten understands is money (not an unreasonable thought from a corporate standpoint). Purchasing the theaters would prevent them from being demolished. Yo, Carolyn Farb, rather than stand there and complain, get some of your fellow rich folks in River Oaks and buy the place! Put your money where your mouth is. The boycott thing ain't going to work. Watch "You've Got Mail" as an example of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicMan Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 I wonder if a vigilante will appear at Weingarten's HQ with a bulldozer... I would be laughing if that actually happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Native Montrosian Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Has anyone considered a fundraising drive to buy the River Oaks/Alabama Theaters from Weingarten outright?From what I've heard, Alexander would not entertain any offers. That does sound odd to me; a developer not considering a buyout. Either that's not the case or the rumors about bad blood between the Weingarten & Alexander branches of the family are true. Perhaps someone will have to make the "unfortunate decision" to change the company name due to all the bad publicity....you know this is being followed in more cities than Houston, right? My nephew in San Francisco heard about the impending demolition this past weekend. That could just be preservation-minded SF, or people are taking notice since California is one of the states WR has projects in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southgate Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 Let there me more sterile boring construction! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan the Man Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 and more national chain stores! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 well, they made it to the front: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 From what I've heard, Alexander would not entertain any offers. That does sound odd to me; a developer not considering a buyout.At this point in the game, they've almost certainly signed binding contracts with Barnes & Noble and possibly other tenants by now. Anyone looking to throw money at the problem would have to put in enough to cover both Weingarten and any signed tenants. The time for a buyout had long since passed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Native Montrosian Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 An allusion was made in one interview regarding consideration of offers to lease out the Alabama eventually, if anyone could afford it. Doesn't sound very negotiation-friendly, but maybe that's just me. Also, they can sell or lease either theater all day long, but it won't do much good if a group has to have a monthly volunteer sell a kidney to lease the parking, or if they won't allow parking at all. The Village Arcade garage on Morningside has warning signs about parking for Brian O' Neill's, Woodrows and the Ginger Man threatening towing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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