Large Starbucks to open in hotel lobby
Hilton Americas-Houston plans to convert part of its ground-floor lobby into one of the largest coffee retail outlets in the state.
Houston First Corp., which owns the hotel at 1600 Lamar St., entered a license agreement with Starbucks Coffee, which will take up a 4,000-square-foot portion of the hotel’s lobby.
The store will be one of the first locations in Texas to offer Starbucks Evenings service, which provides a selection of wine, beer, appetizer foods and desserts for sale after 4 p.m. The retail outlet also will offer Starbucks Reserve, a small-lot coffee selected by the coffee maker, roasted then delivered to select retail outlets and brewed for individual orders.
Houston First officials said the coffee store should open in October. The corporation recently began going through construction management proposals to build out the retail store, which is to be in the northeast corner of the hotel’s lobby.
In addition to serving hotel guests, the Starbucks location will be available to the neighborhood surrounding the George R. Brown Convention Center. Construction work will include adding exterior signage and doors that open to the street. The corporation took a similar approach when it added the Pappasito’s Cantina at the other end of the hotel, said Dawn Ullrich, president and CEO of Houston First, in a news release.
“It is significant that it will have signage on the Hilton façade and exterior-facing doors so that visitors will know it’s there,” Ullrich said. “We are also replacing the glazing on the windows facing Discovery Green. This will allow passers-by on the sidewalk to see the interior of the new Starbucks and create a more interactive pedestrian experience.”
Although construction is expected to be significant, Joe Palmieri, the hotel’s general manager, said the project should “not be a messy teardown or a dusty buildout.”
“It will be business as usual at the Hilton Americas for the next six months,” he said.
Ric Campo, chairman of Houston First’s board of directors, said the new Starbucks retail outlet will be an “eye-opener for downtown visitors.”
“While we have been negotiating this arrangement for more than a year, we are now going to fasttrack the buildout phase,” he said.
In addition to owning the hotel, Houston First has operated the city’s convention and arts facilities since 2011. It also manages more than 10 city-owned buildings, plazas and parking facilities. Properties include the George R. Brown Convention Center, Miller Outdoor Theater, Wortham Center and Jones Hall. For more information, visit www.houstonfirst.com. Longtime feed-andgarden store for sale
The site of Wabash Feed and Garden Store on Washington Avenue is listed for sale, but store manager Devin Jones says the longtime retailer is not closing but looking to relocate to a bigger facility.
Real estate brokerage firm Boyd Commercial LLC recently listed Wabash Feed and Garden Store for sale. The listing can be found online at www.boydcommercial. net. However, potential buyers will have to contact the firm to request the price.
“It is not closing, and it is not changing hands,” Jones said.
The store, which offers pets and pet supplies, antiques, organic gardening goods, yard decor and livestock feed, has outgrown its location, Jones said.
The store has been in business since 1989 and its owner, Betty Lou Heacker, is only looking at the possibility of relocating within Houston, he said.
Previously called Consumer Grain, the store dates to the turn of the century when it was in the 6400 block of Washington Avenue, according to the store’s website. The German family that owned the store sold it in the 1970s to interior designer Manning Mann, who changed its name to Wabash Antiques and Feed Store. Wabash stands for Washington Avenue Bric-a-brac, Antiques, Sundries and Hardware.
Heacker purchased the store from Mann and stayed at the original Washington Avenue location for almost five years. The original owner kept the deed to the property, however, and when he died the land reverted to the heirs.
According to the store’s website, Heacker couldn’t come to terms with the original owner’s heirs and obtained Wabash’s current site, where she built a store to reflect the old-time feel of its beginnings. The store’s website is at wabashfeed.com. Fitness studio expands to Southwest Houston
A Montrose-based fitness studio is opening a second location this summer in Southwest Houston in collaboration with The Zone Sports Complex.
Timberline Fitness Studio is opening its second location at 10371 Stella Link Road inside The Zone, an indoor sports facility serving the Braeswood Place area near NRG Stadium.
Details of its new Timberline’s grand opening were not yet available.
The new fitness studio location offers strength and cardio exercise equipment and personal training as well as strength and conditioning training for youth involved in sports. Timberline is located inside The Zone, which offers basketball, baseball, volleyball, soccer and other physical activities for families, including after-school activities for children, within a 52,000-square-foot facility.
“We saw an opportunity to reach a new market in an unusual way,” stated Dean Theriot, Timberline Fitness Studio’s owner in a news release issued May 13 announcing the company’s expansion.
He said parents can exercise while assured that their children are safe inside The Zone. Timberline is located upstairs from The Zone’s children’s activities. Timberline Fitness’ cardio theater overlooks a majority of the facility. Garret Theriot will oversee the staff at Timberline’s location at The Zone.
“The Timberline team is thrilled to expand and offer our services to a new area of Houston,” Garrett Theriot said.