Saigon Cafe (Temple, Texas)

I like the little marquee lights on the sign, though I don't think they do patterns, at least, not anymore. (Google Maps Street View)
I'm back with another entry ripped and slightly updated from the SW HK Dodgen Loop page (as of this writing), 220 SW H.K. Dodgen Loop. Located on the opposite side of Fryers Creek Lane from Cactus Jack's, this has been Saigon Cafe since 2010. Other restaurants here included Mulligan's Grill (1980-1989), Emperors of China (1992-1993), and Mr. Fajita's Buffet (1994-2004). The signage for Mr. Fajita's Buffet stuck around for several years after it closed, and it originally had the address of 520 Ramada Drive (at some point this and one other got changed to SW HK Dodgen).

At the time I thought it was pretty good but otherwise I can't remember much of it, including what I actually ordered....

Yale Marketplace (Houston, Texas)

The map of this shopping center isn't too impressive. (Source: see entry) Breaking from North West Loop Entries is Yale Marketplace, with a mixture of addresses on Yale Street and North West Loop. The map above is from this site and as of this writing, the numbers 1 through 9 represent 3004 Yale Street suites #100-900. 800 and 900 vacant, but the others are Verizon (100, Orangetheory Fitness (200), The Hive Salon & Beauty Bar (300), Glo Nail Lounge (400), Houston Dental Oasis (500), Pearle Vision (600), and The Lash Lounge (700). #10 is Houston Heights ER at 101 N. Loop West #300. But the real star of the show, of course, is Whole Foods Market.

This was 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 the (now defunct) 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.

Former Starbucks (St. George, Louisiana)

Picture sourced from Loopnet
Closed fast food restaurants is something I was always familiar with, by 2008 I could recognize the corpse of, say, a Wendy's, but a closed Starbucks was unheard of. That was the case of the Starbucks Coffee at 9837 Bluebonnet Boulevard which I came across in December 2008 (it had closed a month before). It was only operational for a little over a year, but luckily Starbucks Everywhere got a photo of it (which has proved helpful in research). By 2013 it had reopened as Dunkin' Donuts, but that failed within five years, and in spring 2019 it became Poké City (poke bowls). However, that appears to have been another COVID-19 victim. By early 2022 it became a Domino's, with the drive-through lane now used as a pick-up lane.

Lockhart Family Dollar (Lockhart, Texas)

Google Maps Street View, 2022
Family Dollar opened a new store in Lockhart at 1118 S. Colorado Street in 2004 (a previous store in Lockhart had closed in 1997). In 2005, the company introduced a more modern logo based on the old 1970s-era one with a little logo of a family and a new color scheme, while retaining the original typeface. The logo here was updated in early 2011.

This is split from this post, which in turn was from Carbon-izer.

Target on Sanger Avenue (Waco, Texas)

Picture courtesy McLennan CAD
This is from Carbon-izer from a page that is soon to be revamped. Former Target store opened in October 1981 (T-155) and closed in 2003 with a new Target Greatland about two miles away. It has since been renovated into a variety of medical offices (Six West Medical Center).

Burned-Out Grandy's (Dallas, Texas)

Slightly modified picture from Google Maps, originally from "Sia S."
Grandy's continues to die with 16 locations remaining as of this writing, but one of them, at 3738 Marvin D. Love Freeway (US-67) suffered a catastrophic fire in 2023 but despite being boarded up in June 2024 (and demolished by spring 2025) Google claims it is still open (as of this writing) despite being gone from the company's website and never rebuilt. A sad fate for a chain that once claimed nearly 200 restaurants.

Next door is Al Chile Tacos (3806 Polk Street) taking up residence in a former KFC. It is the fourth restaurant after the initial replacement; after KFC left, it was replaced by "Chicken House", then "Tu Taco", then "Don Taco".

Conroe's James Coney Island (Conroe, Texas)

2013 Google Street View, edited slightly
The Conroe James Coney Island opened in December 2004 (or early 2005) but at some point, probably late 2013 or January 2014 at the very latest, closed. Replacement tenant Raising Cane's Raising Canes renovated it instead of building new, and as a result, when it reopened as Raising Cane's in June 2014, it was the biggest Raising Cane's in the country, though not by much (according to the website, which used to post opening dates and tidbits about each restaurant).

It is located at 2127 West Davis Street. This was split off from this post.