As I mentioned in my recent Numbered Exits post on Super 8 in Hope, Arkansas, I'll be updating the "blog family" (Brazos Buildings & Businesses, Numbered Exits, and The Houston Files) three times a week (Monday-Wednesday-Friday), though it's spread between the three sites (and might be off by a day). This doesn't count post re-dos, of course, the post covering La Bodega was overhauled and had the Church Street Blues & Barbecue post merged into it and the Northpoint Crossing article will be overhauled in the near future.
Today we're returning to the Rock Prairie corridor which I haven't had a post about since 2020. This building was built in 1999 for Edelweiss Floral Shop, a locally-owned florist which closed in 2002.1 The building spent some time vacant later (I have in my notes it was "Brilliant Illusions" in 2004-2005, based on tax records, though there's no newspaper presence). In 2006, gift shop Baskets on the Brazos moved in. Baskets on the Brazos has its own history, which I haven't yet told of.
In 19862, Pop-abilities Unlimited opened at 3737 East 29th Street, featuring gift baskets, gourmet popcorn, chocolate, balloons, and snow cones. If you follow Carbon-izer.com, it was one of the sponsors drawn onto Jim Wodark's Camptoons map. In 1995, it merged with Baskets on the Brazos, though it seems it was more of a buyout than a merger, considering that Baskets on the Brazos was a much newer business (this was its first storefront) and like any "merger" where one is clearly more dominant, the older company disappeared. The business was renamed as "Baskets on the Brazos/Pop-abilities". A 1998 phone book I have said they had a second location at "3952 S Texas Avenue CS" (likely in this retail center). From what I can determine between tax records, this article, and other archives, is that the business didn't move to Villa Maria (I can't find anything on it, though it's possible a 2001 phone book or directory could disprove that) but did revert to the Pop-abilities name before it was purchased in 2003, moved to 1200 Briarcrest Drive Suite 1000, and renamed as Baskets on the Brazos from the article says, killing the Pop-abilities name for good, before new ownership of Baskets on the Brazos (in 2006) moved it to 112 Rock Prairie Road. In 2008, Tricia Barkdale Design, a floral shop that was located within Martha's Bloomers in Navasota (Martha's Bloomers does not have an article on this website, but it is discussed on Carbon-izer as part of the Highway 6 entries) at some point (Martha's Bloomers opened in 2000, so Ms. Barksdale hadn't been renting for long), moved into the new Baskets on the Brazos space. Eventually, Tricia Barksdale Design took over the operation entirely. In 2018, Tricia Barksdale moved to 4444 State Highway 6 South before closing the storefront in 2020 (COVID-19) to a home studio where she's been since. I suppose that's just how these things go. The socials are still active for Tricia Barksdale Designs as is her website, and it's still way less unsatisfying than what happened to Petal Patch or the final fate of the 1930s-era business Student Co-op (later history discussed here).
Back to 112 Rock Prairie Road, by the late 2010s it had become Oakwood Roots, a therapy center (an outgrowth of Oakwood Counseling, which was across the street at the time) and like Tricia Barksdale eventually moved to the bypass (now known as Roots Psychotherapy). As of November 2024, it was "TenantNow" (renamed to "TenantFirst" by 2025), which has also moved out to the highway (all three moved out to the 4000-4500 blocks of Highway 6 South...go figure).
1. Despite the name, it was over a block away from Edelweiss Avenue, and had no access to it.
2. Possibly 1985, 1986 was just the first time I found an advertisement
Editor's Note:: I've talked about a "post every day of the year" for this site specifically, which for this blog falls on August 5th, a Wednesday, so that's when this blog will get its next new entry...go and check out Numbered Exits and The Houston Files in the meantime!
