Sears Baybrook opened in 1978 along with the grand opening of the mall, and was the last original anchor left at the mall. The store had an extended closing sale and the closing date was moved from September 2017 to January 2018. As you can see from my photos taken in late August of 2018, the store had a lot of inventory and a discount of 10-60% off.
The reflection on the floor from the sign was awesome. Too bad these signs did not get moved to a nearby location.
This Sears location was one of the nicer ones in the Houston area. (1st floor entrance)
This store very strongly resembles the Sears in Waco Texas in many aspects, even though that store is smaller.
We will now go to the second floor.
The store still had a decent amount of electronics prior to the closing sale.
As most of us know now, Sears electronics departments have shrunk significantly over the past few years. This store was probably the last one I will visit that still had a large electronics department that had not been painted over.
Not much activity in this somewhat hidden part of the store.
STOP!
As with many Sears locations, this store had mattresses all over the place. As store shelves get dismantled and less and less products arrive to stores, the mattress departments grow.
A standard Sears checkout counter.
A peek into the former portrait studio.
An interesting design here above the escalators.
Now we go back downstairs.
Merica'
These hearing aid departments were always in some random room in the store. This one is no exception, right in the middle of the tool department.
I am not so sure the Made in the USA sign is true anymore.
For a second, I thought that was a dude staring at me. Nothing like a realistic store poster to get your attention.
A short video from the tool department. I like the changing image sign.
Now we walk towards the softlines going towards the mall entrance.
Here is the rare photo on my blog of a jewelry counter.
The outside of the store where we entered and left to store.
A few more outdoor shots of the store.
Adios Sears Baybrook. RIP January 2018.
Thanks for sharing the photos of this store. I shopped here pretty frequently in the last few years of the store's existence. You're right in saying that this was a nice Sears. It did feel more upscale than most of the other Sears in town (though the 1990s two-story Sears also felt/feel quite nice). The mattress department had a specialty store look to it. Sears is starting to put that decor in other mattress departments, but they had it long before most of the other Sears. Also, the sporting goods department looked like a gym. It was a nice touch.
ReplyDeleteSears developed Baybrook Mall through their Homart divsion so this Sears had a prominent space at the mall. I'm sure the store did good business, but they probably lost their lease if it was a Seritage store or was sold to raise money if they still owned it (I can't remember off the top of my head what the situation was).
Hopefully the shoppers to this store will go to the Plaza Paseo and Mall of the Mainland Sears, but the Mall of the Mainland store is smaller and the Plaza Paseo store has a questionable future with the property going up for sale through the online auction. Neither Pasadena or Texas City has the retail drawing power that Baybrook has though, that's for sure. At least SHOS has the Outlet store nearby and some appliance showrooms in the area.
You are right, for this being an older store, this one had many upgrades and was nice. I wonder if this store will eventually be demolished to become a parking garage. With the additions to the mall, I can see parking being a big problem.
DeleteSears is closing their store in Lake Charles at the Prien Lake Mall. It was kept under the radar until Monday and did not make the most recent list. Hopefully the stores that are being auctioned off, will remain Sears stores for the foreseeable future. I would not be surprised if the first floor of the Deerbrook Sears becomes an H&M though.
Why would they change there closing so far?
ReplyDeleteThis store still had a lot of inventory for being almost 3 months into the closing sale. I wonder if they had gotten a shipment that kept the store open longer.
DeleteDid you ever hear that this Sears used to have a McDonald's inside?
ReplyDeleteYes, our good friend Anonymous in Houston told us about the McDonalds in this location.
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