Randalls in Killeen (Killeen, Texas)

Today, it's the home of Texas Thrift but I'd like to take time to talk about what was previously written on Carbon-izer a while ago. Located on 2200 E. Veterans Memorial Blvd. (formerly US-190 Business), Safeway #751 opened in 1977 and was converted to 1989 to AppleTree before closing in early 1994. It was part of the group of AppleTree stores that Randalls Food Markets purchased the previous year and after a few weeks of cleanup and repainting, reopened as Randalls (489). By the end of January 1997, the store was shuttered, and Hastings opened within months (Hastings didn't even use all the space, the unused portion went to Family Dollar). This continued until Hastings closed around 2017.

The story of Randalls here is notable because it was the ONLY Randalls store in the entire Waco-Temple-Killeen area and a good hour away from Austin. It wasn't like Lufkin or College Station where a showy but ultimately unsustainable store was built, it was simply a bad acquisition in a lousy space.

Due to its history as Hastings, I doubt any part of Randalls is recognizable inside today.

North Loop West Entries (Houston, Texas)

In continuing to break down Carbon-izer my attention has turned to the 610 Loop page (archived from this point) and I've decided to focus on "North Loop West", which starts at Harvard Street, neither a major road nor one that crosses Loop 610. It updates the sections to get rid of non-North Loop West entries as well as other fixes that were never caught. Some new entries were added as well. 3000 North Loop West, Sheraton Houston Brookhollow, isn't listed here. It can be be found here at The Houston Files.

Whole Foods Market / 101 N. Loop W.
Part of the Yale Marketplace shopping center, this store, initially branded as "365 by Whole Foods Market" when it officially opened August 22, 2018 but rebranded by 2022 as Whole Foods Market (after new parent company Amazon discontinued the brand). 365 was originally a limited service version of Whole Foods with fewer service departments and lower prices. In its early days it offered an outlet of Peli Peli Kitchen and Juice Society, both through a program called "Friends of 365" that allowed local outside brands to operate within 365 stores. However, these have since closed down and replaced with a sandwich bar and juice bar, respectively.

Ventura's Bridal Fashions / 102 North Loop West
Originally built c. 1980 as a warehouse for Ventura's Formal Wear (locally-based tuxedo shop, found in malls), this eventually became Ventura's Bridal Fashions (even as of 2011, "Ventura's Bridal Salon" and still advertising tuxedos on the sign).

Exxon / 202 North Loop West
This used to be an office building (it's twin was across the street at W. 30th) but by 1995 both were demolished. It was rebuilt as an "On the Run" Exxon gas station in 1997, but sold to Star Stop in the early 2010s (still an Exxon).

El Rey Cuban & Mexican Cuisine / 233 N. Loop West
Opened in early 2017 and moved from a location off Ella. Sells tacos and tortas, as well as a few other items.

Starbucks / 445 N. Loop W.
This Starbucks opened in April 2007. It replaced a Shell gas station and reuses the highway signage.

Taco Cabana / 700 North Loop West
One of the earliest Taco Cabana restaurants in Houston, opened by April of 1992 (not sure when it originally opened) but it was built as a Taco Cabana as opposed to a certain Houston-based knockoff sold to Taco Cabana later.

Shell / 801 North Loop West
The old Shell station at 801 North Loop West dated back to 1975 and was torn down in 2018, remaining vacant for almost a year before construction on a new Shell station began in 2019 and opened later that year, anchored by a "Checkout" convenience store (the old station had a car servicing garage). It was a Texaco prior to a Shell (gaining the brand around 2003 as with other Texaco stations).

The Home Depot / 999 North Loop West
Despite confusing access from Durham and Shepherd, the Home Depot has been here since 1993. An expansion in 2005-2006 added a new expansion and pickup area to the south side of the store, though the expansion doesn't connect the parking lot to West 26th Street.

Whataburger / 905 N. Loop West
This Whataburger is a little hard to get in and out of (no access from Brinkman) and has been since around 1999.

Office Depot / 1401 N. Loop W.
This Office Depot is not particularly accessible or visible from Loop 610, but it's been here since 2009.

Lowe's / 1521 N. Loop West
Lowe's opened in the year 2000. Later on, a Murphy Express gas station (commonly associated with, but not owned by Walmart) built in the parking lot.

Thomas Bar-B-Q / 1503 N. Loop West
This barbecue restaurant has been here since 1988.

CVS/pharmacy / 1525 N. Loop West
This replaced a Shell station in 2013 (the Shell station was not accessible from the adjacent parking lots). The Murphy Express was built in the Lowe's parking lot as a "replacement".

KFC / 1526 North Loop West
Located at the northeast corner of North Loop and Ella, from the 1970s until around 2001-2002, this was a Shell (something that Houston retail historians would refer to as a "Hexashell" due to its roof canopy shape). In 2002 it was redeveloped as a KFC/A&W (and as of 2008 still featured the old Shell highway signage to advertise) but in the early 2010s was renovated, ditching the A&W co-brand due to the separation of A&W from KFC parent Yum! Brands.

Denny's / 2120 N. Loop West
This Denny's has been here since 1975.

Antone's / 2724 West T. C. Jester Blvd.
This stand-alone Antone's restaurant (opened as Antone's Import Company) has been here since around September 1979 and currently is the only stand-alone restaurant in the chain.

Antone's has a somewhat complicated history; at some point, there was a split and dispute over the name, each side claiming to be the "legitimate" successor, etc. and at some point I'll make a full page on it. I believe that the "other" Antone's has either renamed or gone out of business, but that requires more research.

Applebee's / 2959 N. Loop W.
This Applebee's was opened in 2007.

Hancock Whitney Bank / 2979 N. Loop West
This is farther south than the Sheraton and directly on West 18th Street, but it was built as Whitney Bank in the early 2010s (new construction) before a merger changed the name about five years later.

Northwest Mall (Houston, Texas)

It's not a good picture of the mall but it's mine. (3/2008). I've always discussed the late Northwest Mall (located at 9500 Hempstead Road) as deserving better coverage on Carbon-izer, as I only had some pictures and thoughts from 2013 here. By the time I first really started paying attention to Northwest Mall (rather unimpressive, as JCPenney had been gone for years, and only Foley's was left) it was deep in decline. The Foley's would become Macy's in 2006 and close down in 2008 following Hurricane Ike damage (probably an easy way out since the 2003 opening of the Galleria's Foley's rendered it irrelevant). The sign still hung on the building for several years afterward even as it was clear that Macy's would not reopen it. The new home of Thompson's Antique Center of Texas (9950 Hempstead Road) at the former JCPenney opened in early 2012 and closed in 2022, after the mall itself had been shut for several years.

While Carbon-izer is still in need of a new Northwest Mall page, you can at least see this map I saved from back in 2008 when the mall still had Macy's and lots of other tenants.

Closer to the eastern corner of the mall was a small strip center that faced the mall area and was accessible from the parking lot (though was nearly invisible from the highway). Googling helped find these, but it appears that not all of them were actually active (must have switched addresses). A * means that I've confirmed they were active or recently departed at the time the center was evicted (all had the address of Hempstead Road). You can see some pictures of this strip mall and 9550 Hempstead Road at this page (same place with the Taco Bell/Wendy's/McDonald's/Jack's Carpet pictures). Based on some preliminary Googling from late 2019, here's what was there.

9552 - Demeri's Bar-B-Q*
9554 - Space City Tattoo Parlor & Body Piercing*
9556 - MP Healthcare Medical Supply [looked long abandoned by the time center was torn down]
9558 - [unknown, looks like there was a for lease sign]
9560 - Soundwaves [store #8]
9562 - King Street Patriots
9564 - Southern Apache Museum
9566 - Barber Shop & Beauty
9568 - Americana Insurance*
9570 - Smoke Toys*
9572 - The Security Store [address is also Townsley Baugh Design]

Finally, I should mention that the address of the mall is still in use through Houston Granite & Marble Center. The old JCPenney Auto Center was later sold to Firestone and that closed in the 2000s. After remaining empty for years it was revitalized as its current use in 2014.

This is an updated version of what originally appeared on Carbon-izer with additions from other pages.