2215 Southwest Freeway
Magic Island, an upscale Egyptian-themed dinner theater that featured magic and comedy performances operated here from its opening in 1984 to its closure in 2008 (though it briefly closed in 1985 during a bankruptcy), when Hurricane Ike caused fire and water damage. Various plans have come and gone to renovate and reopen the facility though this has never come to fruition. An interesting look inside the abandoned building can be seen at this link.

2519 Southwest Freeway
This former Hooters restaurant was a victim of the June 2024 closure round.

Shell / 2525 Southwest Freeway
This Shell has had a Timewise since the late 2000s and was originally built in 1991 (though was a Shell at least since the late 1990s). It, along with Hooters and IHOP behind it, was the home of Gulf Coast Motor Inn, later Greenway Inn, a motel complex that operated from 1971 to closure in 1985. This Greenway Inn is not to be confused with the now-defunct Greenway Inn & Suites further down at 2929 Southwest Freeway.

Academy Sports + Outdoors / 2404 Southwest Fwy.
Academy opened here in 1996 (moving from a c. 1980 location at 2030 Westheimer Road). In 2009, the store received an expansion to the east side, and in 2015, the facade was renovated out of its old "wedge" style for a regular, flat facade.

Crowne Plaza / 2712 Southwest Freeway
Crowne Plaza Houston River Oaks has gone under several name changes since it was originally built as a Holiday Inn back in 1984. From the late 1990s up until around 2010-2011, it was "Holiday Inn Select", a now-defunct sister brand to Holiday Inn.

The Levy / 2828 Southwest Freeway
This hotel originally opened in April 1971 as a modern TraveLodge hotel (see the Travelodge in the Heights page). It originally featured the "Voyager Dining Room" restaurant and the "Dry Dock Club" cocktail bar.

In 1998 the Travelodge closed for a renovation and conversion into Club Hotel by DoubleTree, a new brand launched as "an exciting mid-market hotel designed for the business traveler" according to the website at the time (later known as DoubleTree Club Hotels), but in 2001, this particular hotel treated some business travelers particularly badly enough that a PowerPoint presentation was created and widely shared about the hotel and how an unsympathetic night clerk treated them (some versions remove the details about the hotel and place, and just call it the "ABC Hotel").

Within a year of the incident, the hotel changed brands again, this time to the Ramada Plaza (the "upscale" brand of Ramada Inn), and in 2003 became "Sheraton Four Points Hotel", which would eventually restyle as "Four Points by Sheraton" (Four Points by Sheraton Greenway Plaza). In 2022, the hotel closed for conversion into an apartment building which opened within a year or two (The Levy).

Olive Garden / 2929 Southwest Freeway
Today, there is an Olive Garden at this address with Sunset Animal Hospital (2959 Southwest Freeway) sharing its parking lot. However, it was a motel before all of this.

Houstonaire Motor Inn opened in February 1965 at 2929 Southwest Freeway with 232 rooms, each with a balcony, and featuring a coffee shop, private club, and large dining room, as well as a swimming pool. In 1970, it was rebranded as Colonel Sanders' Inn, as opposed to the 1979 date given by Arch-ive.org.

This lines up with this book about the Colonel Sanders-branded hotels not working out soon after their 1969 debut, as by 1979, the Colonel was one year away from his death, and the chain of restaurants owned by Heublein (who likely had little interest in expanding the brand through a hotel chain).

In late 1971, the hotel reverted to its original name, before dropping the "Motor" in 1972. In 1974, Houstonaire became Ramada Inn ("Ramada Inn - Greenway Plaza"), though the Houstonaire Club remained with its original name into the late 1970s. The last reference to Ramada came in November 1985 came for interviews, afterward, references to the hotel completely disappear. In 1987, the hotel saw its first newspaper mention in overa year as the "Riviera Hotel" (and mentioned to be the former Ramada Inn), but by 1988 it seemed to return to the Ramada Inn name. In late 1990, it became the "E-Z 8 Motel" (part of a San Diego-based chain). In 1992, it became the Premier Inn, and in 1997, a Best Western.

In 2005, it assumed its final name before demolition—Greenway Inn & Suites. In 2009, the pool closed permanently and was filled in, and around March or April 2014 the hotel was permanently closed, with the hotel demolished in October of that year. The next year, an Olive Garden (with the newest logo) opened in the spot (and taking the address) and Sunset Animal Hospital (24/7 service) opened within a few years after that.

Chili's / 3215 Southwest Freeway
This Chili's restaurant opened in May 1998 as part of a redevelopment that was built on the former site of the Albert Pick Motor Inn / Americana Motor Inn hotel after its demolition a decade prior.

3133 Southwest Freeway
In late 1973, Holcombe Lindquist Inc., a local retailer of pianos and organs built a new store here with a gimmick...a full-sized piano fixture mounted on top of their sign (15 feet tall, 25 feet long toward the back and 128 feet in the air), which was also used as a directional ("At the sight of the big grand piano..."). By 1990, a second store had been opened at I-45 and FM 1960 (sans giant piano) but by that time the company was in financial trouble, and closed that location.

In summer 1991, owner Don R. Holcombe founded a new company, Holcombe Music Inc., which continued to operate at 3133 Southwest Freeway, but within six months Holcombe Music was forced to file for bankruptcy. Dallas-based Brook Mays would reopen the store in spring 1992, once again using the piano signage. By 2002 Brook Mays rebranded the store as Brook Mays PianoMax, but in 2006 Brook Mays went out of business. After being used as Noel Furniture Clearance for a time, Fort Bend Music Center moved into the upper level and enacted a restoration of the piano, adding LED lighting. (An article states that at one time the piano spun around until high winds damaged the motor. The restored piano did not spin.)

Eventually, Fort Bend Music Center moved out and the building was renovated as office space. Despite no music-based tenant, it is known as "Grand Forum" today with the piano still there.

Lakewood Church Central Campus / 3700 Southwest Freeway
The largest church building in America, this was originally built as a multi-purpose arena called The Summit in 1975 and renamed Compaq Center in 1998 due to a naming rights deal, though in 2003 the venue closed as the sports teams at the Summit (sports teams at the Summit included the Houston Rockets, Comets, Aeros) moved to Toyota Center. In 2005, the building reopened as Lakewood Church (after a renovation) and the home of Joel Osteen Ministries. Initially this was under a long-term lease, but the church purchased the building entirely in 2010.

4015 Southwest Freeway
This former La Quinta hotel operated from 1969 to summer 2022. It consists of two motel buildings and a larger three-story building with interior corridors, and was the first La Quinta (then "La Quinta Motor Inn") in Houston.

4020 Southwest Freeway
I had originally written this as an article for The Houston Files, but this hotel was built in 1969 as Executive Motor Inn, with name changes as follows as per newspaper references: Executive Red Carpet Inn (1972) though references to the Executive Motor Inn or Executive Motor Hotel existed into 1980, Executive Motor Hotel (1981), Quality Inn - Greenway Plaza (1983), Ramada Inn - Greenway Plaza (1992), Executive Inn - Greenway Plaza (early 1993), Super 8 Inn (late 1993), Executive Inn - Greenway Plaza (1997), Hawthorn Inn & Suites (mid-2000), and Comfort Inn & Suites (fall 2003).

Sometime around late 2006 the hotel was closed and demolished as per Google Earth and HCAD records and today Metro Greenway (4100 Southwest Freeway) has been built atop of the land plus some. If you visit the Houston Files link, you can see an ad for the hotel.

Fuddruckers / 3929 Southwest Freeway
This Fuddruckers restaurant has been here since 1996 but has been "temporarily" closed since June 2023.

Taqueria Tepatitlan / 5545 Southwest Freeway
This has been Taqueria Tepatitlan since '96 but it was originally Kettle (1974-1995).

5617 Southwest Freeway
This aging building used to be the home of Holder's Pest Control and "Bubba" the neon cockroach. Bubba was taken down in 2004 after being up there for 42 years and scrapped in 2012. The building is rather run-down today. Stickers from Star Auto Accessories still cover the windows on the first floor (including the pre-merger Sirius Radio). A psychic takes up residence on the second floor.

6501 Southwest Freeway
This was Bennigan's from 1979 to early 2000, and Don Carlos Mexican Restuarant from 2001 to 2023. The third location of the multi-location Tex-Mex Mexican restaurant chain from the Houston area. This location opened in 2001 in a location that was Bennigan's from 1979 to early 2000. It is to become El Muelle Seafood & Grill, but as of this writing, 12/24, is yet to open.

6767 Southwest Freeway
This was the site of Zuma Fun Center, formerly known as Celebration Station (HHR's link says 2018 as the closure, it actually closed in October 2017. It had some features, mostly go-karts and mini-golf sitting on less than five acres (including parking).

6800 Southwest Freeway
This was Golden Corral from 1995 to 2002. Following the demise of Golden Corral, it was "Steak of Texas" (2003-2005), China Panda (2005, though signage persisted into 2008). Around 2008 part of the parking lot was subleased to SW Auto (6802, accessible from Dale Carnegie Lane), with the building subdivided as well. It appears that from 2008 to 2011 part of it was Tradição Brazilian Steakhouse. eventually giving way to "Afghan Restaurant Dastarkhwan" (also known as Afghan's Dastarkhwan), which closed by the end of 2015. Southwest African Tavern gave way to Lucy Ethopian Restaurant & Lounge, though that doesn't occupy all the space (apparently).

CarMax / 6909 Southwest Freeway
This was originally (back circa 1965) was Mandrel Industries Inc., a subsidiary of Ampex Corporation. Geosource International purchased it from Ampex in 1973 (apparently, it was founded with the purchase of Mandrel), and in 1978 Mandrel Products moved to 5880 Ranchester while Geosource used it for other departments, including the Petty-Ray Geophysical Division. Halliburton ultimately acquired Geosource and in the early 1990s moved out of the building. Around 1996 the building was torn down and CarMax opened in December 1997 as its third Houston location. (This is where one of our family cars came from! - Ed.)

Pappas Bar-B-Q / 7007 Southwest Freeway
This opened as Pappas Brisket House (also known as simply Brisket House) in 1992, an early Pappas BBQ concept. It converted to the more familiar name around 1997.

Texas Jasmine Wholesale / 7051 Southwest Freeway
The Sharpstown Target (T-16) operated from February 1970 to January 2006. Like other early Target stores, it had "Target Foods" operated by a third party (here, it was Weingarten until 1984). Today, the store is used by a convenience store wholesaler.

This is about where Southwest Freeway intersects Bellaire Boulevard (see above), with PlazAmericas at the northwest corner (formerly Sharpstown Center).

Saltgrass Steak House / 9110 Southwest Fwy.
The second Saltgrass Steak House in the chain opened in 1993. This opened as Smuggler's Inn in 1976 and in late 1982 closed and converted to Bombay Bicycle Club. (Parent company Associated Hosts owned several concepts, for another example see Brazos Buildings & Businesses).

Autofit / 11565 Southwest Freeway
The third Fry's Electronics to open in Houston had a "history of Houston" theme but was relatively bland compared to the others. It opened in 2006 but closed in 2021 with the chain's bankruptcy. A few years later it reopened as Autofit, a large car parts store.

Gringo's Mexican Kitchen / 12330 Southwest Freeway
This location of Gringo's Mexican Kitchen (no. 5) opened November 2002 in a former On the Border (1993-1996) back before OTB got homogenized and was considered a good restaurant.

El Tiempo Cantina / 12710 Southwest Freeway
Texas Land & Cattle Steak House was the first restaurant here from 1998 to 2018. It reopened as Laurenzo's El Tiempo Cantina by August 2019.

Bombshells Restaurant & Bar / 12815 Southwest Fwy.
This restaurant was built in the early 1990s (opened December 1993 as Spaghetti Warehouse). This closed sometime around December 2001 and reopened in 2003 as America Buffet. This in turn closed in 2020 and a few years later was renovated and reopened as Bombshells.

EastWest Bank / 15144 Southwest Fwy.
Originally J.J. Muggs (1984-1986) and later became Zia's (1989-1994). MetroBank moved in around 1995 and was converted to EastWest Bank around 2014.

First Colony Mall / 16535 Southwest Freeway
This mall, built in 1996, has a dedicated page on this website with a mall directory!

Dunkin' / 23601 Southwest Freeway
This was Carl's Jr. from 2012 to 2018; Dunkin' opened 2024.