RICE BOULEVARD to RICHMOND AVENUE

Whataburger / 3712 S. Shepherd Drive
Previously discussed briefly at the Farnham Street Starbucks page, this Whataburger looks a bit different than a standard-build 1970s Whataburger would be but that's because from 1972 to 1975 it was Herfy's. Notably, it was because they didn't cover up or alter the roof that Herfy's had, it didn't even receive Whataburger's orange-and-white roof until 2009! There's a neat little drawing of what Herfy's looked like on HHR.

Trill Burgers / 3607 South Shepherd Drive
Home to Trill Burgers since June 2023, the last James Coney Island store in the Inner Loop closed in summer 2022 after being opened in 1992. As previously seen on Brazos Buildings & Businesses, this building had a "twin" in College Station that was quickly sold to Taco Bell, and I actually got to see this one in its original form at night (I believe this picture was indeed from this store). In the late 2010s it was rebranded as "JCI Grill" with an unfortunate removal of most of the great signage and never reopened its dining room after COVID.

RICHMOND AVENUE to KATY FREEWAY

Health Land Therapy / 3209 S. Shepherd Drive
Thai massage in a converted house. Rebranded from Thai Experience around 2021.

Little's Oyster Bar / 3001 S. Shepherd Drive
The first reference to this address refers to "Consolidated Oil Company" (service station) in 1936. By the mid-1950s it was a Cities Service station and in the mid-1960s became a carry-out spin off of legendary Houston restaurant Valian's, probably the first place to get pizza on the entire Shepherd strip. References to Valian's Real Pizza ended after 1974 and by 1984 it had already closed after another operator (Gino's Pizza Place). In 1988 it reopened as the first Pappas Seafood Kitchen, which operated until 2020 when it "temporarily" closed during COVID-19. Even while it remained closed, the Smoothie King at 3007 S. Shepherd Drive closed around 2021 and was knocked down for parking. Pappas reopened the restaurant as a similar but different concept, Little's Oyster Bar, in 2023. I don't know exactly how old the building is.

Trader Joe's / 2922 S. Shepherd Drive
The main tenant of Alabama Shepherd Shopping Center was built in the 1930s as Alabama Theater which opened in November 1939. It closed around 1983, and reopened around August 1984 as Bookstop, featuring fixtures that utilized the sloped floor. This closed in 2009 and it became Trader Joe's in September 2012 (which filled in the sloped floor).

Torchy's Tacos / 2411 South Shepherd Drive
Built as a short-lived Monterey House in 1987 to replace Jimmie Green Chevrolet, this space has had a revolving door of the restaurants over the years. Monterey House was short-lived and closed by the end of 1989. Marisco's Bar & Grill opened in 1990 and closed in 1992. Ari's European Cafe opened in September 1994 but closed in 1995. Crostini opened in early 1996 and closed in 2007. Café Zol operated from 2007 to around early 2010 and for less than six months, it was Sabetta Café. The last tenant before Torchy's opened in 2012 was Gratefull Taco in 2011. Gratefull Taco was inspired off of Torchy's Tacos, and even featured the "Owner's Room", a restaurant-within-a-restaurant had foods prepared by the owner of Sabetta. In 2011 Gratefull Taco closed and in 2012 an actual Torchy's Tacos opened.

Layne's Chicken Fingers / 2359 South Shepherd Drive
This former KFC opened around 1978 and closed in 2009 for a rebuild (it reopened in 2010, moving away from the corner); however it closed in 2016 and reopened as the third Houston location of Layne's Chicken Fingers.

Dunkin' / 2330 S. Shepherd Drive
This was originally the site of a 1950s-era gas station, but around 1979-1980, Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken (as the chain was branded at the time) opened in a new building. In the very early 1990s, this closed, and in 1993, it became an Arby's. Under Arby's, the building was modified to update to their prototype, particularly the window in the front (standard late 1990s Arby's design). In the early 2010s, Arby's closed. In 2013, Dunkin' Donuts opened in the spot.

Red Lion Pub / 2316 S. Shepherd Drive
Red Lion Pub since 2003. Previous restaurants are as follows: King Olaf's Roast Beef (1970-1971), Prince's Coffee Shop / Prince's Drive-Inn #16 (1972-1974), Hickory Farms BBQ (1974-1976?), Captain's Anchor (c. 1977), Luke's Hamburgers (1978-1993), Schlotzsky's Deli (1994-1998), Cioa Luna (1998-1999), and Andretti Ristorante (2001-2003). See this page.

Petco / 2110 S. Shepherd Drive
From August 1941 to February 1996 this was Jamail Bros. Food Market, which was not to be confused with the Jim Jamail & Sons Food Market on 3114 Kirby (nor other one-off Jamail operations), the one everyone still talks about, and has been somewhat documented by a few sources, including Texas Monthly and independent blogs.

Jamail Bros. outlasted Jim Jamail & Sons. In February 1996, the 79-year-old Clarence Jamail retired, the 15 employees were re-hired by Rice Food Markets, and the store was liquidated. In October 1996, Petco celebrated its grand opening in the spot.

Jiffy Lube / 2001 S. Shepherd Drive
Jiffy Lube has been here since 1996. Across from this at the southwest side of the intersection was the former Battelstein's department store (later converted to Frost Brothers in 1980), operating from 1953 to 1988.

Taco Bell / 1817 S. Shepherd Dr.
Until a renovation around 2010/2011, this held a Pizza Hut Express co-brand. Around 2020 it was completely rebuilt with a new parking lot and everything. 1817 S. Shepherd has been the home of a Taco Bell since 1973.

Who Made the Cake! / 1811 S. Shepherd Drive
This 1935 house had been converted to commercial use as early as 1959 with Maison Olivia Beauty Salon. By 1967 this was Ila's Beauty Salon and in 1970 "House of Dru-Tu". By 1972 it was The Livin' Room (which I can guess based on the classified for a cocktail waitress was a nightclub). 1976 it was Lories Illusion (another nightclub). By 1986 it was Armando's, an upscale Mexican restaurant appealing to the yuppie crowd (a restaurant review described the building as a "horrid-shade-of-green [that looks] like a Porsche/BMW/Mercedes Benz dealership".

After July 1994 it was shut down to move to 2300 Westheimer and in May 1995 L'Aventure Cafe, a French restaurant, opened in the spot. In April 1996, L'Aventure was revamped as Bistrot Aventure with a new chef, a revamped menu to focus on New American cuisine (rather than upscale French cuisine), and a new interior but it closed in October 1996.

The current tenant, special event cake baker Who Made the Cake! moved in around the mid-2000s here in this converted house. According to one article this was previously Camella's Creations before it was purchased in 2002.

1701 S. Shepherd Drive
Barnaby's Cafe has been here since 1999, and a second hidden building behind it (off of Haddon Street) has a few service-related tenants (Sanctuary Spa, River Oaks Music School, The Migraine Imposter) behind it. The large wall on the south side of the building used to directly abut 1715 S. Shepherd. This converted house's first non-residential tenant was in 1968 with Ellen McCarter Stewart Cultural Studio (tutoring); the next reference is The Hobbit Hole restaurant in 1972. It moved out in 1998 and the building was demolished soon after. You can see what it looked like here (courtesy HHR).

Backstreet Cafe / 1103 South Shepherd Drive
The somewhat pricey Backstreet Cafe has been here since the early 1980s. Otherwise, the converted house has had a few office tenants over the years since the mid-1960s, including Ampersand Inc. (publishing), a realtors office, and an insurance office.

Federal American Grill 510 Shepherd Drive
Opened 2013. Cue & Cushion (pool hall) was here from 1990 to 2009 (originally at 3116 South Shepherd from 1963 to 1990). From 2009 to 2013 it was Branch Water Tavern.

Windsor Shepherd Apartments / 611 Shepherd Drive
From 2004 to 2015 when it closed at the end of the year, there was an indoor soccer arena Kicks Indoor Soccer here. The current apartment building (245 units) was built in the late 2000s as Modera Shepherd and replaced it and a 1920 (or pre-1920) house at 619 Shepherd, the northeast corner of the block.

Little Woodrow's / 720 Shepherd Drive
I haven't looked into the history of this site but it used to be a wine bar called Block 7 before opening as a location of Little Woodrow's in 2015.

West End Church / 802 Shepherd Drive
Former West End Baptist Church, it effectively dissolved in 2016 and was relaunched as the West End Church, a non-denominational church affiliated with River Pointe Church.

Mobil / 909 Shepherd Drive
This was opened in March 2023 and features Izzi Market and HTX Liquor & Smoke (it opened a bit later). The gas station was redeveloped from a Jack in the Box that operated from 1974 to around fall 2019.

El Rey Taqueria / 910 Shepherd Drive
This was originally a Church's Fried Chicken from the mid-1970s until the early 1980s when it converted to a Kentucky Fried Chicken (there were numerous other Church's restaurants that converted around this time, including 8910 Westheimer) and closed around 1996. El Rey Taqueria has been here since early 1997.

Lupe Tortilla / 1511 Shepherd Drive
Lupe Tortilla has been here since 2011. The Spaghetti Western / 1608 Shepherd Drive
Google describes this as "Classic Italian fare with Tex-Mex accents in a casual setting with vintage movie posters & a patio". It has one other location off of T.C. Jester, but this is the original one. It has been in business since 1999. This was built as a lounge around 1950, originally "Deer John Lounge" (1951), then Pat's Lounge (1952), Tra-La Lounge (1960), and briefly on the market. Around 1978 it became The Oyster Bar, but closed in 1983 and was on the market again. Tony Mandola's Blue Oyster Bar was opened in the late 1980s, but by 1990 was just "The Blue Oyster Bar". In the mid-1990s, this was the location of Saltwater Grill Restaurant and Cafe LA by 1998.

Jax Grill / 1613 Shepherd Drive
This location of Jax Grill opened 1994.

Cadillac Bar / 1802 Shepherd Drive
Hi-Loy Food Market was here until the mid-1940s when it moved to Larkin and Detering, and by 1950 was the home of M & N Food, with "A's Tool Center" (hardware equipment repair) in the early 1970s. Cadillac Bar has been here since 1979, with the Landry's ownership coming in later.

Saltgrass Steak House / 1803 Shepherd Drive
The earliest reference I can find for this address is Bonora's Hardware in the mid-1950s. In 1977 it became the Hofbrau Steaks restaurant. In 2007, it was purchased by Landry's, Inc., and while it still open as of August 2007 as Hofbrau, within a few months Landry's had rebranded it as Saltgrass Steak House. Unlike its suburban counterparts, the restaurant is relatively small, and the larger building to the left is a private banquet room.

Valero / 1816 Shepherd Drive
This Valero has two gas overhangs (just extensions out from the store, nothing special) and shares some of its parking with the Cadillac Bar nearby. Like most of the Valero stations around here older than 2005, this one used to be flagged as a Diamond Shamrock and Stop N Go before it was reflagged as a Valero/Corner Store. The convenience store here is Circle K, having been rebranded in January 2019 from Corner Store.

Historically, I'm not sure on this one. HCAD says it was built in 1973, but an older gas station was here since 1969 (Conoco). The Stop N Go has been here since 1983.

KATY FREEWAY to NORTH LOOP

Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers / 2015 Shepherd Drive
This restaurant opened in August 2017 at the northwest corner of Shepherd Drive and Katy Freeway. It doesn't actually connect to Shepherd Drive, access points are Cornish and Durham.

It replaced Big 10 Tire, a converted gas station, as well as 4821 Cornish Street, last used as Fresh Carwash in the early 2010s. I'm not sure of the history of this, it existed at least into the 1980s, and was previously a bank. In 1995 it was Charter Bank, and it closed prior to 2007 as Bank of America.

Automobile / 2101 Shepherd Drive
The name of this full-service garage (with oil change, state inspection, etc.) is just Automobile, based on flyers mailed out and other independent sources. It opened around 2015-2016 to replace Manny's Mufflers. Even during the Manny's Mufflers days, the sign was whited out due to an old business no longer there. It is unknown which business used the sign last. Aaron's Auto Center (also known as Aaron's Muffler & Brake Shop) operated here from 1999 to 2006, while this was Midas Muffler from 1961 to 1999.

Johnstone Supply / 2120 Shepherd Drive
This was built in 2014 to replace ABC Auto Parts, a scrapyard that closed and was torn down several years before. Already by 2008, the scrapyard had scaled back dramatically to allow the construction of new townhomes on Cornish Street.

500 N. Shepherd Drive
Warehouse. Facing the North Shepherd side is "Nundini Chef's Table", an Italian restaurant carved out of the warehouse building (the facade has been marginally improved since its opening). "Gelato Italia" seems to be part of the business. Another tenant in the building in the late 2010s/early 2020s was "Texas Fund Runners" (since permanently closed).

901 N. Shepherd Drive
This was originally home to Merchants Park Lanes (1970). In February 1983 it was leased to a bingo center, Bingo Super Bowl but it was shut down in July for violating state law. In 1985 it became a large nightclub ("Mega Club"), which became NRG in early 1986 and Nu Entity Club in fall 1988 and became BizMart in 1990 before closing in 1991. It was Palais Royal from 1997 to 2000...then Factory 2-U. Around 2001 Golden Island Buffet took half of the space (the side closest to the north), by 2011 the vacant space was filled with Tuesday Morning and by 2013 Petco replaced Golden Island. Tuesday Morning stayed until the chain was liquidated in the early 2020s, and as of October 2024 is JD Sports.

908 North Shepherd Drive
This auxiliary facility for Tommie Vaughn Ford has been doing service for heavy duty trucks since at least 1992. Back in the 1950s, it was some sort of industrial facility with a rail spur to the M-K-T railroad just south of here.

Tommie Vaughn Ford / 1201 N. Shepherd Drive
Tommie Vaughn Ford has been here for years; in the 1100 block across the street where they have additional facilities there's a large signage tower with Tommie Vaughn's name on it.

Kroger / 1035 North Shepherd Drive
I had read this store had dated back to 1948 before being rebuilt in 1996, but that's not the case--it was still woods even into the 1950s, and the first reference being 1959, with Henke & Pillot #12 being at this address. Around 1966, its new owner Ohio-based The Kroger Co., began to rebrand the stores (as "Henke's" or "Kroger-Henke") and by 1970, it was Kroger. The store (along with adjacent retail space) was rebuilt in 1996 as a new Kroger Signature store. In 2010, the store expanded (replacing a gas station at the corner of Shepherd and 11th with its own fuel station) and dropped the Signature branding.

Burger King / 1040 North Shepherd Drive
The first reference I can find for Burger King is 1966 but around the late 1980s, the Burger King was rebuilt. It received a major in-and-out upgrade in 2013.

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen / 1101 North Shepherd Drive
Popeyes has been here since 1977. The "Louisiana Kitchen" is a more recent moniker, which the company started phasing in starting in 2008.

1302 N. Shepherd Drive
This small medical office building has Avanta Medical Clinic, Arango Chiropractic Clinic, and Houston Relationship Therapy. It physically replaces a building at the northwest corner of Dorothy and 13th Street, but the address uses the building that faced North Shepherd and is part of its parking lot, a building that once served as 7-Eleven from 1961 to 1983 (it closed four years before Southland exited the Houston area and sold the area stores to National Convenience Stores).

Heights Forum / 1324 N. Shepherd Dr.
This two-story retail development with Gyroville, Yoga Six, and others as its first tenants, opened in the early 2020s.

La Michoacana Meat Market / 1348 North Shepherd Drive
This building was built in 1945 as a small grocery store, with the earliest reference being Hi-Sun Food Market in 1961, an associate of local grocery co-op Lucky Seven. The owner, Gen Hing Lim, supported (along with other local immigrant business owners), took out a full page in 1961 in support of the Republic of China (Taiwan).

By 1967, it was "Wholesale Electrical Systems", mentioned in an advertisement of another restaurant as one of its suppliers (featuring Westinghouse light bulbs), and in 1970, listed as "Goodway Distributing".

In 1991, it was Alltech Appliance, featuring "clean, rebuilt, late model appliances" (implying that they were not new). By December 2009, it had assumed its current tenant.

1400 North Shepherd Drive
Ralph E. Alvarez Law Office. It has been here since at least 2007 (likely earlier) and since around 2020, the facade is a lighted reads "ATTORNEY ABOGADO".

10X Living 15th Street Flats / 1414 N. Shepherd Drive
15th Street Flats (the full name of the apartment complex refers to the management company, a practice not uncommon throughout Houston and beyond) is quite a bit larger than other apartment buildings of its ilk, topping out at 8 stories with some 337 units. The apartment building was built in 2020 on the site of a warehouse and other buildings.

Heights Bier Garten / 1433 N. Shepherd Drive
Heights Bier Garten has been here since 2013. Formerly home to Longhorn Motor Company which had an alternate address of 1407.

CubeSmart Self Storage / 1526 North Shepherd Drive
Prince's Drive-In (#7) operated here from 1957 to approximately 1978 at 1500 N. Shepherd Drive (alt. address 1502 N. Shepherd). In the early 1980s, Safe Way Motors opened in the spot and remained sometime until the early to mid-2000s. However, they never removed the old Prince's signage until 2014 when the lot was about to be redeveloped. A large self-storage complex (two buildings, one four level, one three, and linked by a single-floor lobby) was opened in late 2015 as StorageWest and between 2021 and 2022 assumed its current name.

Circle K / 1544 North Shepherd Drive
This was a Diamond Shamrock/Stop-N-Go at least since the mid-1990s and became a Valero/Corner Store in the mid-2000s. By January 2021 it became a Circle K (with Valero gas) but by August 2022 had dropped the Valero name entirely.

It's currently unknown as to what legacy the early 1980s gas station has.

Take 5 Oil Change / 1818 North Shepherd Drive
The earliest reference I can find for this is an unknown service station before becoming home to Clark Motors #4 in 1964. It was the site of Der Wienerschnitzel from 1967 to 1969 and briefly in the early 1970s home to "Hungry Po Boy". In 1985 it reopened as Tune Up Plus, which it still was as of 2007. As of 2007 this was Tune Up Plus (with "Mr. Pro Lube" also operating). Between 2015 and 2016 this became oil change only with a renovation into Take 5 Oil Change.

1919 North Shepherd Drive

For many years, this building was associated with car dealerships. The current building was built in 1988, but even before that, the earliest address I can find is Blue Seal Autos, Inc. (1951), and it appears to have served as a dealership of some sort for decades. Other names over the years included H.B. Mistrot (1959), State Finance Co. (1961), and Triple H Motors (1968). From around 1989 to the mid-2010s, the building was "Dealer Sales", a used car dealership.

In 2016, the building was completely renovated. The main portion of the building was taken by Mellow Mushroom (pictured above in an early 2019 picture) and operated from in late 2016 to November 2021. Crust Pizza Company replaced it in August 2022.

Meanwhile, the former two-story section of the car dealership was also renovated, with Moody Ice taking the lower level (and later, Intero Real Estate Services taking the upper level). Since then, the building has seen turnover in all of its tenants.

Moody Ice ended up closing a few years later (in 2019) and was replaced by Chick'nCone, but closed sometime around spring 2022. It was replaced with Möge Tee in January 2023. Intero Real Estate Services also vacated the upper level by 2022.

Velvet Taco / 2001 North Shepherd Drive

Built in the late 1970s as a Jack in the Box (and replacing an older location from the early/mid 1960s), this location closed in or around September 2018. In January 2021, it reopened as Velvet Taco, the third Houston store but the first with a drive through. The picture above is from my older blog, The Houston Files. Velvet Taco maintained the "box" signage but heavily altered the building's exterior.

The Taco Stand / 2018 North Shepherd Drive
The Taco Stand opened January 2021. It was redeveloped from some sort of auto garage.

Katz's / 2200 North Shepherd Drive
24 hour restaurants are much rarer these days following a time of disaster for sit-down restaurants (I'll let you fill in when), but Katz's maintains 24 hour service following its opening in fall 2020.

Alma Latina / 2203 North Shepherd Drive
Alma Latina has been here for years, complete with a big, cheap sign on North Shepherd. By the early 2020s, it was still extant, but facade improvements have changed its appearances from a shabby local taqueria into a hipster Mexican restaurant. Check out how it's changed from Street View. The change from 2007 to 2021 is staggering.

Value Village / 705 West 23rd Street
Despite having a large parking lot (and roadside sign), Value Village (thrift store commonly found in Houston) didn't have a facade on the building until around 2020.

H-E-B / 2300 North Shepherd Drive
Food Giant, a local supermarket (#7 according to sevfiv from Arch-ive) was located here starting in 1966, with a 56,000 square feet store and an extensive non-food selection, ads have included needing someone for a jewelry department, and other ads have shown items like lawnmowers, box fans, small kitchen appliances, baby cribs, a portable typewriter, and others.

In February 1975, Fiesta opened in the space, with when Food Giant closed being lost to time. For the next forty years, Fiesta operated in the space, making a minor facade change by the end of the 1980s (and slightly expanding the building). An interesting thing to note was that Fiesta operated in the Heights dry zone, and did not sell beer or wine. In March 2016 it closed, and the H-E-B began construction within a year, beginning with the demolition of the site.

The H-E-B is two levels and opened January 30, 2019, with its parking garage abutting the street. Most of the store is on the second level built above the parking garage, with the first floor featuring the pharmacy and escalators/elevators going up to the upper level.

2323 North Shepherd Drive
For years this was Copper Penny, a shabby-looking walk-up restaurant serving hamburgers and Chinese food. Copper Penny was here in some form since 1989, and at one time served ice cream. It survived at least into 2019.

Piper's BBQ & Beer renovated and reopened the building in October 2020 but closed in November 2021, reopening as Piper's Burger in May 2022, but it appears to have closed in late 2023.

2400 North Shepherd Drive
This building dates back to the early 1970s as Texas Cafeteria. In 2013, Texas Cafeteria got a new facade, but it didn't last, as in 2015 the restaurant closed and gutted down to the roof structure and the back wall.

By 2017 there were two tenants, a Verizon and Krisp Bird & Batter, but in late 2018 Muscle Maker Grill replaced Krisp.

An October 2019 Street View (from north to south) shows Verizon, Upscale Cleaners, Green Earth Juicery & Cafe, and Muscle Maker Grill. Verizon had closed in early 2021, Verizon has since closed. By May 2024 the line-up consisted of Memorial Hermann-GoHealth Urgent Care (Ste. 140), Upscale Cleaners, and Green Earth.

According to Harris County Appraisal District, the current building was built in 1972, but a cafeteria being here predates Texas' opening in 1965, and as early as 1955, a cafeteria was on the site here for lease.

Tikila's / 2708 North Shepherd Drive
As of 2007, this address was Buffalo Fred's Icehouse, operating out of what appeared to be a converted mechanics' garage, but after some updates in the early 2010s was closed by summer 2017. Tikila's modified the space with a large patio and opened August 2019.

Uno Más Liquor / 2807 North Shepherd Drive
This used to be a Fiesta Beverage Mart, the stand-alone liquor store companion to Fiesta Mart stores, that was typically found near the stores. This one was located farther away from the main store as the main Fiesta store was in a dry zone (see the H-E-B entry above). When the Fiesta closed in spring 2016, the liquor store continued operations, complete with a neon Fiesta logo on its signage. While this was not a problem initially, later on, Fiesta was sold to new owners, which have slowly remarketed the store and slowly started to eliminate the name from the licensed beverage stores. In June of 2022, the store name was changed and the signage disappeared.

NORTH LOOP to PINEMONT DRIVE

2902 North Shepherd Drive
This former Conn's Appliances store has been divided into a variety of stores and services but the suite numbers are out of order. As of 2022, starting from 610, it contains T-Mobile (ste. A), Nailology (B), Connect Dental Specialists (C), Advance America (G), IndyQuest Properties (F), Five Guys (D), and AnyLabTest Now! (E), the last one being located toward the former loading dock area in the back at West 30th Street.

Before Conn's, it started out as Minimax #11 in the early 1950s and later became Florian's Minimax #2 into the late 1960s, and Conn's Appliances from around 1992 to 2008. It doesn't appear it served as much if anything in the interim years in the 1980s and 1990s.

Gabby's BBQ / 3101 N. Shepherd Drive
Gabby's BBQ opened here in January 1984 and the ninth location of the local chain. Today, this is the only location left. At one time they operated (or at least licensed) a location at Astroworld.

3201 North Shepherd Drive
This used to be a parking lot for decades (not sure if Gabby's or Garden Oaks Baptist Church owned it) but by 2022 it was re-developed as a new retail building with McAlister's Deli, Aura Nail Spa, Sichuan Pepper Express, and Salata as its first tenants.

Garden Oaks Baptist Church / 3206 North Shepherd Dr.
The website for this church isn't very helpful for its history but according to the Houston Chronicle was organized in January 1947 with its building constructed and occupied in 1948. Today the original church is occupied by Shepherd's Field Baptist Church, with GOBC occupying newer buildings (built in the 1970s, it appears) just south of it.

Common Bond On-The-Go Coffee & Bakery / 3210 N. Shepherd Drive
Developed out of a former gas station (a garage serves as the drive-through!), Common Bond has two other locations, but this one serves as a small coffeeshop instead of the café the other ones do. By the late 2010s, this was Kim's Service Station, a former gas station converted to a small automotive garage (inspections, tune-ups, etc.)

It was a Texaco from the 1950s to the early 1970s, but I do not know when the store lost its gas brand or stopped selling gas. (Kim's operated from 1983 to 2018).

Carter's Grove Shopping Center / 3401 N. Shepherd Drive
3401 N. Shepherd Drive: Carter's Grove shopping center developed with apartments at 3405 and anchored by Sunny's (originally 7-Eleven if I recall). Behind it was another apartment building (stand-alone) that was demolished in 2019. (at 3403). I'm not sure what the story behind that was. I can't find much information on it.

Reserve at Garden Oaks / 3405 N. Shepherd Drive
Carter's Grove Apartments was built in 1972 and closed in 2007 due to substandard conditions and work began on condominium conversion in 2008 before an economic downturn, eventually reopening as Reserve at Garden Oaks c. 2012 after further renovations. The small strip center in front of it still has the Carter's Grove name.

3402-3410 N. Shepherd Drive
This shopping center, from south to north, has The Upside Pub (3402), Pink's Pizza (3404), Village Liquor (3406, formerly West End Cleaners in the early 2010s), Garden Oaks Veterinary Clinic (3408, here since 2015), and Molly's Mutt House (3410, moved around 2015 from 3408). It was renovated around 2009 or 2010 (give or take a year) and it did more than just restore and showcase the "mid-mod" shopping strip, it also consolidated four signs into one.

Going back, the Upside Pub was Octane Coffee Lounge (2010-2011), Shepherd Park (2011-2022, same ownership), with Binswanger Glass at 3402 N. Shepherd, Wireless Services of Texas (Sprint) at 3406, Eisa Carpet & Flooring (at either 3408 or 3410, though I can't seem to find an address), and A & B Vacuum & Sewing Machines at 3412 North Shepherd Drive # B. Most of these businesses (before they were evicted for the redevelopment) are still in business today, just in different locations.

Cottonwood / 3422 N. Shepherd Drive
This bar and restaurant's building dates back to 1950 as an auto garage owned by local man Oscar Schmidt. Larry's Wheel & Tire was here from approx. 1978 to 1982. By the time it became Cottonwood in 2012, it had been "Gilbert's Driveshafts" and closed for a while by that point.

Grace Church / 3750 North Shepherd Drive
Originally the Garden Oaks Theater, this movie theater closed sometime in the 1990s and was restored as a church in 2008. It does simulcasts from Grace Church of Humble.

Garden Oaks Shopping Center / 3800-4000 North Shepherd Drive
A year or two prior to getting Aldi, the center went through an exterior renovation (the old version used lots of brick). A PDF of the center can be seen here with its 2020 tenants.

4000 North Shepherd Drive
Sadly, the Sears that was here from 1950 to 2020 was demolished in 2024, ending the era of its Art Deco-style neon sign along Shepherd. Read more about the store at this this link. At least the classic neon signage is above the bus stop still (for now). Normally I don't put down addresses for vacant lots but I'll make an exception.

CVS/pharmacy / 4150 North Shepherd Drive
CVS/pharmacy opened in very late 2005 on an unused section of Sears' parking lot. Here is where the West Crosstimbers Street stoplight is. Check out that page. To the west (at the same intersection) is West 43rd Street. They relocated from a location at 1238 West 43rd Street.

LA Fitness / 4412 N. Shepherd Drive
This fitness center built in 2013. LA Fitness built on the parking lot of a much larger lot that used to be part of 4412 N. Shepherd (the rest was developed into new townhomes). Back in 1960, this opened as The Shopper's Fair discount department store (around 64,000 square feet--though I'm not sure if it had a second level, which would double the floor size) here opened in 1960, part of a group of discount stores scattered across the country, the only Houston store at the time to be a non-member discount department store, and the only Shoppers Fair store in the Houston area. By 1961, a second Shoppers Fair opened at 6120 Scott Street.

The stores appear to have been closed in 1974 when parent company Mangel filed for bankruptcy. The rest of the chain disappeared by the end of 1975. In 1977, Four Seasons Flea Market opened. Ads mentioned it was "Home of Freddie the Flea", presumably a costumed character on hand. Within a few years, the flea market was officially known as Four Seasons Common Market.

I'm not sure when it adopted the Trading Fair name. A 1993 article refers to it as "B&B Nationwide Inc. Flea Market", and by 1997, it was "Star Mall Flea Market". Finally, by late 2002 it became Trading Fair I. As Trading Fair II had been around since the late 1970s, it seems the "original" Trading Fair was at 700 Town & Country Village.

Bruna Chiropractic Clinic / 5011 N. Shepherd Drive
This former Pizza Hut (1976-1987) has been a chiropractic office since 2016. As of 2007, it was Able Body Labor before becoming MDT Personnel (vacated in the mid-2010s), and was Sheldon Printing Company from approx. 1992 to 2002.

Valero / 5121 N. Shepherd Drive
Burger King was here from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. After that, it was torn down for a Circle K (in 1987). The Circle K was sold to Stop N Go in 1994 (likely gaining the Diamond Shamrock gas brand at this time), then became Corner Store in the mid-2000s (with a Valero). By late 2019, it was Circle K for the convenience store section as part of Alimentation Couche-Tard's purchase of CST Brands.

PINEMONT DRIVE to NORTH FREEWAY

B&W Meat Company / 4801 N. Shepherd Drive
This meat market features a large butcher (of course) with a limited selection of other products. They have been in this location since 1987.

Church's Chicken / 5207 N. Shepherd Dr.
Church's has been here since around 1983. There's a torn-down restaurant to the north of it (vacant since at least 2004) which appears to have been a Taco Bell in the latter half of the 1980s (5211 N. Shepherd).

Houston Emergency Management / 5320 N. Shepherd Drive
This was built in 2002 to replace a long-disused Globe-turned-FedMart (it was one of the few FedMart stores not to get picked up by Fiesta, Mervyn's, or others). In April 1983, the 100,000 square feet store and its parking lot was serving as a car dealership ("Auto Fair"). It wasn't a true car dealership, it billed itself as an auto flea market, you could rent space there for buyers. By 1991 it was First Choice Auto Auction. I cannot tell what it was in the mid-1990s, but classfied ads were looking for delivery drivers.

Grindhouse Cafe / 5403 N. Shepherd Drive
This used to be Chirps Chicken & Rice, which had a few Houston locations but they have all since closed down; this one was here from around 1982 to 2012. Grindhouse Cafe renovated and reopened the building a few years later.

Jack in the Box / 5410 North Shepherd Drive
HCAD says this Jack in the Box was built in 1965 but it either was actually rebuilt in the 1970s or, less likely, had extensive work done since then. It does not resemble the construction of a mid-1960s Jack in the Box.

Shell/Burger King / 5605 N. Shepherd Drive
This Shell/Burger King (the convenience store being "Handi Stop") has been here since 1995. The gas station might not have always been a Shell (likely, a Texaco prior to 2003), but it has always been Handi Stop.

Montalbano Lumber / 5850 North Shepherd Drive
The signage looks like it could be decades old, but Montalbano was at 6120 North Shepherd until around the mid-1970s.

Nationwide Import Car Salvage / 6310 N. Shepherd Dr.
This has been a scrapyard since the late 1960s. It has gone under various names, including Moore Auto Salvage (c. 1973), North Shepherd Automotive Enterprises (c. 1977), with its current name dating back to the 1980s according to tax records.

Space City Auto & Truck Parts / 6426 N. Shepherd Dr.
This used auto parts store has been in operation since at least the late 1970s.

Shipley Do-Nuts / 6602 N. Shepherd Drive
This Shipley Do-Nut shop has been here since the mid-1980s, operating amongst the salvage yards that dominate this part of North Shepherd.

Taqueria El Charro / 6810 North Shepherd Drive
This taqueria has been here since 1994. Other hits for this address include Taqueria Mi Hacienda (1993-1994), Transworld (1992), and Industrial Opticians Inc. (1989-1990). The rest of the building, 6808 N. Shepherd (built in the 1950s) was a food store (signage still exists on and around the building). It was Kwick Service Grocery in 1955, and by 1990 it was Stop-in Food Store.

Mayfair Park Apartments / 7450 North Shepherd Drive
This apartment complex was built in the mid-2000s, one of the few newer developments.

Seafood Heaven / 7477 N. Shepherd Drive
This former Taco Bell, pictured here (not my site) as Josie's (at some point prior to the pictures, the place where the bell hung had been covered up to make the full sign), operated as Seafood Heaven since around 2020, previously Soulful Sensation (2019, less than a year) and Tippy's Soul Food (short-lived between Josie's and Soulful). Taco Bell was here from 1984 to 2003.

Taqueria La Jalisciense / 7477 North Shepherd Drive
This was originally Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits, but it closed by the end of 1985 after a very brief run in Houston of a couple of years.

Jack in the Box / 7502 N. Shepherd Dr.
Jack in the Box has maintained a place on this block of North Shepherd since 1975. It's open 24 hours (in theory, anyway).

Garza Veterinary Clinic / 7702 North Shepherd Drive
This vet clinic was originally a McDonald's restaurant. In the early 1990s the McDonald's permanently closed for reasons unknown. North Shepherd "continues" into North Freeway. See the North Freeway page!

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