A special thanks again to Anonymous for locating the opening dates of all Randall's locations to help complete these articles. Another thanks for the heads-up on the Lufkin Randall's video on Youtube.
Store #57, later store #1057 after the 1990 era expansion of the company.
The store opened on January 1, 1993 and closed on February 15, 2020.
This store was a similar to the Lufkin Randall's store featured in this video (Click here).
And now for the store tour.
The decor and design of this store was very different from the Randall's store in the front of Kingwood. In 2017 this location was flooded as a result of the rain from Hurricane Harvey and a Lake Conroe water release that flooded the San Jacinto River and Lake Houston. The store was quickly gutted and remodeled to reopen just a few weeks after flooding. They did a great job of beating their competitor HEB to reopen after the flood. Unfortunately, the initial increase in sales did not last, once HEB reopened the sales dropped back off. HEB had relocated their first Kingwood store in late 2016 which was across the street from Randall's into a much larger location also across the street from Randall's. Randall's was able to survive the small HEB store, but not the larger one.
You can see the Starbucks addition to the far right of this photo, the Starbucks opened along with the other Randall's at the front of Kingwood. This Starbucks had a separate entrance door to the far right of the building.
The store setup here was similar to the other location in the front of Kingwood. There was some difference in product location such as the bakery placement, but the departments were on the same side of each store.
Deli and buffet.
Produce, leading to the meat cutter in the far view.
The ceiling was low in this right side of the store, the ceilings opened up as you get into the main area of the store.
Here is the first aisle of the main store. Bread, juices, and more.
Randall's had locations in Kingwood starting in 1986 with the Highway 59 location we discussed in the previous post.
Chips and dry goods.
One thing that was different at this store was a center aisle that ran across the main store. This aisle broke up each main aisle in half and made for quicker movement if you wanted to skip half an aisle.
Frozen food section in the middle of the main store.
Customer Service counter with registers in the forefront.
The Pharmacy area. There was also a Wells Fargo Bank at one point to the left of the Pharmacy.
More of the frozen foods selection.
Packaged meats with dairy and cheeses.
Soda aisle.
The employees had decorated the Valentine's Day aisle.
A view from the Pharmacy side of the store to the front entrance area.
Pharmacy department. Prior to the closing of these stores, Rite Aid had taken over the Pharmacy operations.
The cold alcohol selection had been ransacked at this location. At the other location, it was still well stocked.
Wines had been cleared out as well.
Dairy section of the store in the left corner
The Dairy department was in a pushed back area in the back part of the store. At the last Randall's location, the dairy wall was flush with the rest of the store.
More of the dairy and dessert area.
More of the wine department.
The view from the pharmacy side of the store to the first main aisle. This is the aisle that cut the path through the middle of the store.
This is the entry/exit to the store on the left side of the store. The movie department was originally in this section of the store. The shopping carts were located outside in that era.
Organic foods and medicines. This department was new to the remodeled store.
The discount and liquidation signs up close.
Aisle signage.
Paper goods and hardware aisle?
A nearly complete view of this corner of the store.
The main aisles to the right and packaged meats and more to the left. This is the back aisle of the store.
More views of the store.
A better view of the back wall of the store. I have always wondered why these parts of the store had lower ceilings.
In February 2020, cleaning supplies could be had at a pretty good discount here at Randall's. As we all know, a month later cleaning supplies were wiped out for months at the start of the pandemic.
More views of the store.
Right side entry/exit.
Kingwood Strong was the motto of the area after Hurricane Harvey flooded hundreds of structures in the area. In 2022 many areas of Kingwood still haven't recovered from the devastating floods.
Inside of the left side entry/exit foyer.
Last shot of the store with the bright moon in the sky.
February 18, 2020, three days after the store closed. As you can see the exterior signage was already removed.
Since the power was still on, you could get some good views inside of the store. The next two photos were taken through the glass at the Starbucks entrance to the store.
The left side entry/exit foyer.
March 13, 2022. Half of the former Randall's is currently under construction to become a new Ace Hardware store. You can still clearly see the Randall's labelscar.
More to come with the McAllen Texas Kmart final visit up next!
