This page is a little bit different than others on the Houston page as its been retrofitted from an older article, which can be seen here (with notes from the 2020 update which lacked images). When I made this page back in 2017, I had stated that I had a fondness for "real" grocery/discount store combos, something that didn't really exist now, with the page itself being an expansion of an even older post from my original blog Two Way Roads.

When I first really dug into Auchan, I had found that the grocery department stocked a variety of exotic meats. An article mentioned that it stocked "buffalo, goat, alligator, lamb, veal, elk, venison, and rattlesnake", which is of course intriguing (I have yet to eat buffalo, elk, or rattlesnake). Auchan was designed to be primarily a large supermarket (hence, "hypermarket") with a large (but not very deep) general merchandise selection, something almost unheard of at the time, or at the very least, not attempted on such a scale as Auchan did (GEMCO and FedMart did make similar stands in the area). Later on, I had found this map while doing research.

When I showed to fellow Houston-area retail enthusiast Mike (who later borrowed the map when he made his (far more popular) own Auchan post later on) he had this to say. This is almost verbatim save for some grammar editing (and there are still some grammar errors).

Great Map! It's helped to spark a bunch of memories. At the time of closing everything was basically in the same locations as displayed on the map. Starting off with the Bakery: The large square was a mix of short shelves and cool cases for cakes and such. The actual bakery area was open and visible to customers. You could see the ovens and such back there. From what I remember, certain items were out in the open (french bread, pre-package Mrs. Bairds stuff), but smaller things like cookies and small pastries were behind the counter and you had to get a number to wait in line for the next available person. The bakery also had moveable shelving not unlike what Walmart uses for their produce these days for other items. The deli was similar in that you had to get a number and wait until you were called. I don't specifically remember a pizzeria. They might have sold pizza early on, but I'm quite allergic to dairy products, so I wouldn't have been eating any of it. The Seafood department was similar in that it also used numbers. They had a tank with live lobsters in it that you could buy, and behind the seafood department was a small area in which they prepped the fish. This was initially out in the open, and smelled really bad. I think it was eventually walled off. The meat market also used the number system. They had the cooler out front and you could see the meat cutter in the back. There was a wall for this section, with windows that let you see inside, almost identical to what Costco does now. You can see where the doors were with the breaks in the lines on the map. Returning to the front area, the produce market was huge. to the front. the produce market was huge. On the right was fruit and left veggies. With the refrigerated coolers being the last two rows in the produce market. (the one without a break in it and the one to the right of that) There was a faux roof that hung down over the produce market. It was wooden, and had fake grape vines among other fake fruit hung from it. It also had spotlights hanging down that were pointed at endcaps. The styling very much matched the Wine Cellar. Moving towards the back. The second location that uses Deli was the cheese section, later in life this would be shrunk down and the meat cutting part of the original deli would be moved to the back half. The coolers shown in between the cheese deli and original deli were full-sized open front coolers. On the cheese side they held pre-sliced cheese, wheels of cheese, cheese sticks etc.. on the right side it was pre-cut deli meats. You can just barely make out where the people who "cut the cheese" (pardon the pun) would have stood behind the cooler that overlaps with the second Deli location. This cheese shop also used the number system. Moving to the left now the Frozen Food section had open top coolers in the center and full sized freezers with doors on the outer aisles. The dairy section had full sized coolers with doors. Also if you wanted American cheese singles or Velveeta etc.. it was over here. Also the eggs were kept in the end cap across from the right dairy aisle (in the end cap for the aisle that had the coolers in the produce market). Moving further left again I don't remember much about Beverages and Snacks. There was an in aisle water dispenser where you could fill up gallon jugs, and those water cooler bottles. I guess I was incorrect about my placement of the Wine Cellar in my memory. The Beer Cooler was just that, just a giant refrigerated room full of beer. They had those plastic flaps over the door to keep the cool air in. Moving along again I don't remember much about the center of the store. The clothing as you said was originally in tall aisles, however eventually they opted for half height shelves with manikins on top "modeling" the clothing". All around the store were giant murals done by local high schools. I remember above luggage was one done by an art teacher my mom was friends with from Elsik High School in Alief ISD. She worked with the teacher at the time. I'm not sure what happened to the murals when the store was sold but I think they were trashed. Housewares had vacuums and such and also use the half height shelf idea in reverse however. they used the bottom for product display so you could touch the vacuum, blender, etc.. then placed the boxes above them, or to the side. Seasonal usually had garden supplies in it. Although it was also the Christmas section, Halloween section etc.. This is also where they stocked school uniforms and those pre-packaged school supply boxes in early August. Electronics eventually was given a separate checkout and you weren't allowed to bring carts inside. It doesn't look like this was the case in the map.

Despite the initial small number of SKUs, it did change. As the economic situation in Houston began to warm up, within a year, Auchan started to improve its GM departments. By May 1989, the consumer electronics had reached a selection equal to most specialty stores. A 1992 Houston Chronicle article notes that Auchan had more types of olive oil than Kroger, Fiesta, or AppleTree carried (19) and comparable types of honey or caviar to them as well, indicating that the grocery store was similarly well-stocked. In 1989, a second store opened in the Chicagoland area (more on that here) indicating that Auchan had big plans to open a store in other metropolitan areas, but those plans were scuttled as Auchan's Houston location faced profitability issues (the store in Bridgeview, Illinois was sold off). According to Mike, the non-food product mix at Auchan began to slip as Auchan wasn't able to get high-quality brands into their merchandise mix.

I'm also not sure if the shops changed during Auchan's time. Because I don't have directories, I don't have a good record if the stores stayed or left. However, I do have other resources that have helped me determine more of when these came and went.

These did change over time, there was a key engraving station at one time, and one early food court tenant was called "What A Wrap" (1989-1990). There was also another in-line tenant in the 1990s called "3D Illusions". I wouldn't be surprised if dry cleaners or a video rental store occupied space at one point. Above all this was a second level, though I reckon this was offices (despite this, they had a "corporate office" off Katy Freeway, so I'm not sure what would or did go up there).

Anyway, since then, building has been transformed into smaller stores, most notably a Food Town in suite 140 that operated from late 2003 to 2024, when it closed. For many years after the demise of Auchan, the building was called "Parkway Center". In the early 2020s the lettering was changed to "Park 8 Center" before being removed entirely by 2024. (Now it's "Taikoo Plaza").

In 2017, I visited the former store. While it wasn't the same, obviously (seems the corner alcoves were enclosed), I did take a few pictures inside and out. It was a rather rough neighborhood by that time.

Finally, at some point in the 1990s Auchan added a fuel center in the parking lot. This picture is from their old website.

[Return to Uptown Houston page]