The storefront has the new signage but retains the chasing lights surrounding the sign. This store and the Lyons Ave. near I-10 have the same signage. Once I compile my Youtube video of Fiesta signage in action, you will see this one as well. This is a very clean and modern store.
The inside of this store has been fully remodeled. Well almost, you will see one part of the store has not been.
A view of the produce department with the seafood counter in the distance.
The glass square tiles are probably original to the design of the store.
Live crawfish and crabs!
Now for the main reason to visit this store. Somehow this one corner of the store escaped remodeling. The awesome blue neon crab and three shades of blue waves really stands out in the store.
I am finding out that a few Fiesta locations that have been remodeled are retaining at least some part of the old store designs. Some stores still have the old exterior signage as well like this one does.
Now for the rest of the store. Yellow, red, tangerine, and black ceilings with LED lighting throughout. It is about as bland as you can get.
As you can see this store is modern but fairly bland. Many of the 2020's remodels of Fiesta stores still have a good variety of colors even without the neon of years past.
The department signage is fairly plain as well.
Front entrance to the store.
Plenty of pinatas!
More views of the store.
Notice how bland the design of the meat department is. This area needs the neon Parrot! 🦜
Lower Food Prices, this used to be the slogan on just about every storefront years ago.
From this angle, the store design does not seem too bad. I do like the aisle signs here.
Not sure where the pharmacy was, I didn't see any info about a pharmacy except for this sign.
The clothing department. This store has a decent selection although many Fiesta locations have eliminated clothing completely. The selection of clothes does not seem to be as robust as in years past.
Aisle count ends with #13. 😨
The middle aisle to split the store in half. Like many Fiesta locations, the front half of the store has low height aisles to help see across the store.
A wide view of the half front of the store.
Dressing rooms still "closed" for the pandemic.
A wide view of the store from the clothing department.
Dairy and freezer aisle.
This spot above the dairy department looks a little bit out of place. I wonder if this was another part of the store to survive the remodel.
Now for a couple of back aisle shots.
The seafood department signage in the far center of the photo really pops out. It is a shame that the rest of the store is bland in comparison.
This Fiesta Mart is a bit of a hybrid between the fancy suburban stores such as the Astrodome Fiesta and the neighborhood Fiestas that aren't all that fancy. I'd actually say it's closer to the suburban stores even if it is now renovated and looks quite modern except for that awesome neon seafood department decor! That dairy department awning is also a holdover from the previous decor I do believe.
ReplyDeleteThose glass bricks in the produce department wall are probably original. It reminds me a bit of the stained glass in the Willowchase Fiesta produce department. Those glass bricks were popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s so it kind of fits in with the pre-renovation look of this store. Fiesta was probably wise to remove the old checkerboard floor of the old store, but they were also wise to put in a new vinyl floor instead of going cheap and putting in a concrete floor that certainly would have looked bad at a location of this age. While the renovated store might look a bit bland in certain places by Fiesta standards, it's actually really nice by modern supermarket standards. I'd love to shop at this store regularly, but it's quite far from me.
It had been a while since I had been to an El Rancho so I stopped by the W. 34th & 290 location that used to be Randall's, Kmart, and Globe. With El Rancho being supported by Albertsons, it's perhaps not a surprise that there are some holdover design elements from the old Randall's, but there are quite a few differences as well. The store feels nice (for the most part, I don't quite get why certain aisles have concrete floors when most of the rest of the store has a normal floor) and it certainly has a Hispanic theme to it, but it does not feel nearly as glitzy as an old neon Fiesta. The biggest thing I noticed is that the prices at that El Rancho were quite a bit better than Randall's, and even better than places like Kroger and HEB, on many staple items I looked at. I don't know if this is because that particular location competes with the nearby Joe V's on 43rd and the Walmart a little bit further down 290 or if those prices are at all El Rancho locations. Some Safeway/Albertsons brand Signature Select items I buy from Randall's were about 40% less at El Rancho. The store did seem to have a lot of weekly sales so I don't know if that's common or just a one-off thing for this week, but I think shoppers wanting to buy groceries, especially Randall's store brand items, at a big discount might want to give El Rancho a look.
The Mesa Rd. Fiesta was built in an odd spot. Most of the retail and grocery action was closer to Homestead, but now the area near Fiesta is seeing a lot of new housing developments. Summerwood and Fall Creek business districts are close, but this store is more convenient to a lot of the new stuff off of Tidwell, Wayside, and Little York. You would be very surprised to see how much and has recently been cleared out there for new neighborhoods.
DeleteThere are some bits and pieces of the old store still left intact, but the mustard yellow and tangerine colors are what turns me off. If you look at the Airline store, there is a lot of color and signage similar to the Randall's/Albertson's we saw at the back of Kingwood location.
I still have yet to visit an El Rancho store. I am glad to hear that they have kept prices lower than Randall's and other competitors. That is really going to help them out as inflation and shrinkflation continue to rise. Shoppers are choosing prices over anything else these days. The convenience factor is another big one with gas prices pushing $4 with diesel at $5+ a gallon. Some grocers (looking at you Kroger!) are masking their price increases by having "sales" that still wind up being more expensive than other grocers.
I really like the book-style aisle markers where you can see double the number of placards from each direction! It's also cool that Fiesta is allowing certain elements of the old décor packages to stay in some of these remodels. If only the rest of the new package wasn't so bland (like you said).
ReplyDeleteFiesta is such an awesome store to visit. I did not even notice the book-style aisle markers, they do look neat. Even the completely renovated stores have a lot to offer. There is a lot of food from all over the World you can't find easily. The location near Anonymous in Houston is especially stocked and larger than many other Fiesta locations. That location has a ton of neon signage, and you will get to see it here.
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