Kroger used to look better than this. (Photo by author, 2015)
Like many of the older posts on this blog, this article has gone through numerous rewrites and the version you see today wasn't even the first time it appeared (the very first version of this post appeared in 2010 and was later changed later).
Parkway Square opened in 1982 with Kroger as its primary tenant (at Southwest Parkway and Texas Avenue) and received an update in 2016, which made Kroger look a bit better but was short-lived as Kroger closed that year.
To help explain the layout, I'll be using
this PDF which is already several years out of it as of 2025 (archived from
here).
2400 - Originally known as Len George Firestone, the Firestone is on the corner at Brentwood and Texas Avenue. It renovated sometime in the mid-2000s or so, but about the time it happened, we had quit going there (it was once the "go-to" spot for car fixes for my family and others until around 2005).
1 In the late 2000s the building was renovated.
2402 - King Buffet takes up what used to be several smaller stores. There was Pet Paradise in this section from the late 1980s to the early 1990s, a liquor store called For the Good Times, and BB's Oriental Restaurant, but by 1994 the whole space (officially 2402D) was taken by Old Country Buffet, part of the growing
Buffets Inc. company, but it closed in 2004 (the company would continue until
COVID-19, but would file for bankruptcy no fewer than three times before then). It was quickly filled by China King Buffet (the renovation took away the distinctive "peak" of the storefront of OCB, but I'm not sure if predated it). China King Buffet managed to hold out for years until around 2021, and then a few years after that was replaced by a similar restaurant simply called King Buffet.
2404 - RAC Rent-a-Center has been here since 2013. It absorbed old space from other retailers, like Paradise Scuba, which was located at 2404C prior to moving to the old
Putt-Putt site in 2008. At 2404B, there was Champion Firearms (moved from
College Station Business Center, which moved out around 2003 when the new center with Hobby Lobby and Ross Dress for Less was built. Some of the other tenants that used to be here included Oreck Vacuums (2003-2010, replaced Champion Firearms), Rascals, Pack & Mail (this later relocated to 2416B
2, this was replaced by Champion Firearms).
Rascals and BB's Oriental Restaurant appear together in this 1983 ad from The Eagle.
2406A -
Bricks & Minifigs opened in February 2024. It replaced Resale & More which had been here since 2007. Before that it was Ag Sports Cuts, and appeared to always be a barbershop over the years, despite idling in much of the 1990s, in the late 1980s it was a
Fantastic Sams location.
2406B - Jackson Hewitt moved here after 2008, it used to be closer to the Southwest Parkway side, but it has since moved on. (I don't know exactly when, probably late 2010s). 2406B used to be Fit Tanning from 2003-2005 and from 1996 to 1999 Morningstar Travel.
2406D - USA Nails replaced Angel Nails, which was here since the early 1990s. I'm not sure when the changeover happened.
2408 - The original 2408 (please ignore the typo on the official PDF was a huge 60,000 square feet TG&Y Family Center, a souped-version of the
TG&Y variety store (basically, a discount store, which almost every variety store did). It opened before Kroger (October 1981, which makes sense given it was further along in construction). The store had a troubled and short life. Not long after it opened, it announced it would be rebranding its larger stores as "AIM for the Best", which would be a
more upscale concept designed to compete with Target and JCPenney, with "70 percent wearables and 30 percent will be electronics, sporting goods, and hardware" with no variety-store merchandise anymore (though toy departments would continue). In any case, the full AIM for the Best conversion never seemed to happen, and while some stores got new merchandising, the chain only had 13 stores
and was officially ditched in 1984.
Local TG&Y ad from October 1985. It wouldn't last much longer.
In October 1985 TG&Y parent company Household International sold it to McCrory Stores and the local store closed. In 1988, craft chain Amber's moved from
Post Oak Square, with Gold's Gym taking up the remainder of the space in 1991. The College Station store was one of the last seven stores to close in 1997. In July 1998,
MJDesigns opened but that only lasted a year before it went under. In 2000,
Stein Mart opened, which operated for two decades before the chain became a casualty of COVID-19. Meanwhile, Gold's Gym departed in the early 2000s and became Harbor Freight Tools and King Dollar.
2410 - Initially a location of "Chuck-E-Cheese Pizza Time Theatre" (as the chain was called back then) opening in late 1982 but closing in
1984 with the chain's bankruptcy3. As Chuck E. Cheese did not return to the area for
twenty years I have never once stepped in one of their restaurants. In 1985, the
space was taken by Kroger, except there was a problem. Because of the elevation differences between Kroger and the expansion space, a hole was dug in the space and a ramp and a staircase connected it to the Kroger next door. The article implies it was for additional checkout space, but I'm not sure what it was used for in the late 1980s. At some point, Kroger abandoned the idea for additional merchandise and in spring of 1991 opened
Family Video Center, its first free-standing video chain (H-E-B had
ironically beaten them to the punch). Still, the Kroger connection was technically accessible during the 1990s, though you couldn't take merchandise between the two stores. As Family Video Center was
the video rental store for my family, in the original (carpeted) video store, there was a counter near that, in the far left end, plus a big metal "cage" in the middle of the FVC. This was where the kid's videos were, including Pink Panther shorts, Barney, and Bananas in Pajamas, that sort of thing. Around the late 1990s Kroger vacated the space entirely. In 2000, Half-Price Books took over the space and filled in the space. If you walked in HP Books near (ironically) the video section, you could notice a slight depression when you walked near the wall. It might still be there. Half-Price Books took off around 2011 to replace half of the Circuit City on University Drive East and in 2012, it became "College Depot", which sells A&M branded stuff (always a popular choice) and items for dorms (a good idea, actually), and despite being a bit pricey, it ended up moving up to a slightly larger place when it took to half of the old
Winn-Dixie/Lacks in mid-2014 (it has since closed), and 2410 remained vacant until January 2020 when Uptown Cheapskate moved in.
2412 - We know get to the star of the show...Kroger! Kroger Family Center #997 opened in February 1982 to complement the
Bryan location though by 1985 didn't seem to have the larger merchandise selection the Bryan store (and the Family Center chain) had. Even by 1980, the Texas Kroger Family Center stores were a bit of an anomaly, as it was already a concept that
Kroger tried and abandoned a decade or so earlier. Even as late as September 1991, Kroger was still
branded as Kroger Family Center but that went away in the 1990s.
This is looking straight through to the old entrance from the Kroger circa 2016 (photo by author). Prior to the video store's closure, there was a small area with seating and afterward was briefly a bank.
The Kroger as I remember it wasn't unique as far as your typical Greenhouse store went in that era, though it had quirks that the chain just doesn't have anymore, like the dairy being in a dark, lower-ceiling corner of the store and having small plastic mockups above the display showing milk prices (as well as one for orange juice), or Bauhaus lettering throughout the store, or a continuous red strip running around the store.
This was from a page on Groceteria forum thread; the original image is dead and this is my edit.
As much as I liked
H-E-B Pantry, Kroger was great in its own way, too. Produce bags had nutrition facts printed on them (of fruits and vegetables), they had sample cookies, which were better than the store-bought pre-packaged stuff and did make shopping at Kroger a pleasure in my growing up years, and the bottom of the cart was spacious enough that even a 9-year-old boy could fit in there. And the store was larger. Well, around 2001 or so, it renovated (very cheaply) to a then-contemporary décor package (the orange-and-green "millennium" decor, as it is also known) and rebuilt the facade so that there could be offices above the old "greenhouse" area, and pretty much meant that everything about the Kroger that was cool was gone, and it became just as dated as before and still not nearly as nice as the
Kroger Signature to the south or the new H-E-B to the north.
Originally a red stripe ran the perimeter of the store, which I loved as a kid. Notice in the hack job of a renovation they did, they didn't even bother getting identical tiles.
The 2001 renovation did some offices above but it didn't make the existing store nicer, it made it worse by taking away its positive qualities. Most of my visits to Kroger post-renovation have been for convenience. I remember being mildly impressed post-renovation in early 2002 just because it did feel new for a brief moment, when my brother took me there to buy some dry ice, but it got dated and dirty VERY quickly, and most of my subsequent visits have been disappointments. It wasn't anything like the Rock Prairie Kroger or the H-E-B. The produce was sub-par (with a "little too ripe" smell), the international foods section was a disappointment (they put taco seasoning in this department), and generally everywhere else was slightly smelly and generally disappointing. In August 2016, the Kroger closed permanently. For a brief time, the empty Kroger would come to look pretty rough, with graffiti on the windows, but it re-opened around June 2018 as another "TruFit Athletic Clubs".
2414 - In the 1990s this was Jenny Craig Weight Loss Centers and in 1999 became Roly Poly Rolled Sandwiches (by
2019 the chain had shrunk dramatically) which closed in the mid-2000s. Roly Poly sat vacant for a while, then it became "Next Level Sports" circa 2008-2009 (mostly tennis), and after that it became Brazos Valley Mixed Martial Arts for a few years (until around 2013), then sat vacant for a few years more until becoming Palm Beach Tan. I'm not sure if Palm Beach Tan occupies all of the 2414 space. The signage certainly suggests it does but there were two other tenants next to Roly Poly. The first was Texas State Optical (2414A), which moved around 2018 after being there since the mid-1990s, and then 2414B which was The Cork Liquor Store (mid-1990s at least) and became Whiskey Charlie's in 2009 following a purchase of the local stores. Liquor stores usually did good business next to supermarkets as Texas law prohibits hard liquors and spirits on grocery store shelves, and every supermarket in town has a nearby liquor store that supplies the "harder stuff" you can't get at the store...but in the early 2010s Whiskey Charlie's closed the location.
2416A - Like China King, this space (a restaurant) takes up the 2416 space as well. The earliest record for 2416A is "Books & More" with Honey-B Ham & Deli (not to be confused with Honeybaked Ham) taking up the space, which was a franchised deli restaurant (lunch specials with sandwiches and chicken salads, but also meat and cheese to be sliced, and some merchandise for sale). In late June 2009 it closed and was replaced with Taz Indian Cuisine in late 2010, an Indian restaurant/buffet. I finally ate there in 2015 (and the first time I had goat in well over a decade). It was fine, and might share more when the restaurant eventually closes.
2416B - Advance America Cash Advance is next and Advance America's own website mentions that this opened in
2003. Sounds right. In previous versions of this page I was confused because I remembered a Christian bookstore being here (Bob & Larry from
VeggieTales were on the front windows, usually) but there being Pack & Mail instead. This
article seems to confirm that it was in fact one and the same (though the College Station location had closed by that time).
2416C - Smoothie King was here in the early to mid 2000s before moving to near the College Station H-E-B. Later on, it became My Party Palace (I believe around 2007-ish, since the chain was founded in 2005). It was part of a chain out of the Austin area to do princess-themed party planning for young girls, but it ran headlong into the recession, and all eight other locations closed. The College Station location was the last to close, closing in December 2014. In 2020, it was retenanted as
Le Macaron French Pastries, which was the wrong place at the wrong time, and it closed within a year. As of 2025 this is now Total Wireless.
2418 - On the corner sat the Baskin-Robbins. It faced both the main parking lot and Southwest Parkway and had doors to both. Opened in 1988 and featuring "thirty-one-derful flavors", this was my favorite ice cream parlor for years. I had fond memories of this place. Anyway, Baskin-Robbins became "
KaleidoScoops" around 1999, then became "32 Degrees: The Ice Cream Club", then just "32 Degrees" until it closed entirely, which was maybe 2004-2006 (by this time Cold Stone had opened up). Later on this was replaced with Corner Cuts, as it was the corner and they
did do haircuts...but later they changed names to Classic Cuts (in spring 2016) before closing a few years later. The space is now Aggieland Supplements, which I believe opened 2019.
2418B - Around the corner on the Southwest Parkway side, there's Gomez Shoe Repair (originally Cobblestone Quality Shoe Repair, they changed hands in 2001). I can't find a 2418A either, probably because where 2418A would be is just a wall. Despite what the leasing plan says, I'm pretty sure that whatever was before Advance America (possibly dating back to the first tenant) used the space there and walled it off.
2418C - In the early 2000s (2002-2006), this was Potato Shack and was likely Subway's first location (at some point they moved, but within the same block of stores) but this was Moosegus in 2010 (a skateboard/wakeboard/snowboard store wasn't going to do well since those activities didn't really exist) and were locked out in 2011 for lease non-payment. It is now the home of Liberty Tattoo, which it has been since at least summer 2018.
Moosegus did not return.
2418D2 - This was Jackson Hewitt; by 2008 the sign was rather faded so I'm not sure how long it had been there by that point. By February 2013 it was Farmers Insurance, but that closed within a few years and by 2018 it had reopened as Lara & Associates Insurance, but that pulled out between 2021 and 2022.
2418D - This Subway store the first Subway in the state of Texas, sort of. By sort of, I mean, it was originally on this side of the shopping center but at some point in the mid-2000s (after a logo change but before 2007), it switched from just a few spaces down. It's store #628 (the others have numbers in the thousands), and although it switched slots in the shopping center, the first Subway in Texas is in the shopping center on Southwest Parkway. In the 1990s and up to as late as the early 2000s this was Discount Paging Systems, or as the sign read "Beepers" (not to be confused with Beeper Boutique in Post Oak Mall) and operated from 1996 to 2001, and after that briefly operated as other wireless stores.
2418E - The earliest reference I can find for this one is Parkway Florist & Gift Shop around the mid-1980s, then Emilio's Pizza in the early 1990s, then a gap, then Buck's Pizza (from 1998 to around 2010)...and while I never ate at Buck's they had decent pizza rolls. (Not as good as DoubleDave's at their peak, but whatever) and that remained vacant until 2016's Twisted Noodle Cafe came in
4. In 2025 this closed and was replaced with Kung Fu Noodles & Dumplings.
2418F - FabricCare Cleaners was here for years, anchoring suite F from 1984 to the mid-2000s. After it moved, it became Tobacco Junction, which utilized the drive-through window but closed after just a few years. The awning was removed and in December 2018 it was relaunched as Daiquiri Barn, which did very well in 2020 after the law changed on drive-through liquor sales.
Circa 2011 shot of the west end of the center (photo, mine)
2420 - Based on the fact that McDonald's ads in the October 1985 paper list the only two stores at the time (University Drive and Villa Maria, both of which were torn down and rebuilt about a decade ago), but a 1984 phone book did show this store being built and open, suggesting that it was opened around the same time of the Kroger shopping center after all). It had an extremely cramped and strange ramp orientation regarding the drive-through, so when the McDonald's was completely rebuilt around 2004-2005, the playground was removed to alleviate this situation. The playground was strange: it wasn't much more than a wooden structure resembling a spaceship. You climbed up, looked out...and that was all. My brother claimed it replaced a much cooler and better playground but I don't think that was true. When it was rebuilt, there wasn't a playground at all, just a couple of Nintendo GameCubes with things like Mario Kart. Within a year or so, the controllers (they had been fixed in with metal) were so dirty and worn out. The control sticks were broken off, likely abused rather than heavily abused.
The sign is fairly unique as well--it was originally a full McDonald's sign, but received extensive damage in a December 2006 storm where tornadoes touched down. This is when apartments at
Doux Chene Apartments were also severely damaged or destroyed. Due to new restrictive new sign ordinances, they had to remove the damaged golden arches entirely and replaced the "McDonald's Restaurant" sign with a new simple "M"...and it wasn't even a real sign, it was just fabric that stretched over the sign skeleton (though it has held up for a number of years). In 2018, the restaurant was renovated to be another casualty of McDonald's quest to get rid of mansard roof restaurants, even newer ones. (It doesn't look like the picture anymore).
Note the fake owls mounted on the roof to scare off birds that roost on the stoplights at certain times of the year.
This photo makes the area surrounding it seem leafy and green. Not entirely trickery, a large tree was once adjacent to the McDonald's, torn down for widening of Texas Avenue. The butchered sign is in the background.
2422 - This was originally home to the Kroger fuel center (built in 2005 and torn down after the Kroger
closed). After remaining empty as a repaved concrete patch for a few years, the concrete was torn out for a new Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen restaurant, the first new Popeyes restaurant in the area since the one at Graham Road closed nearly a decade ago. It opened late 2020 and proved to be quite successful.
2424 - While this was always planned out as a pad site, Dutch Bros Coffee opened here as a pad site in late 2021 as part of a rapid expansion in town and in the rest of the state.
So that's it...that's my story of one of the most nostalgic -to me- shopping centers in this area, as this stretch tended to be my stomping grounds growing up. I hope you enjoyed it. This post featured extensive updates in 2013, 2014, July of 2015 and July of 2016. In April 2019 some new additions were made. In August 2020, another wide-scale update of the page was done.
1. Gordon Wilhelm (I believe he was a manager at Firestone) established Brazos Valley Automotive in 2005. According to him, "We decided we were going to open the business. Shoot straight, be honest with people, our integrity was important to us, we had it over at Firestone".
2. Pack & Mail also had a Bryan location.
3. Chuck E. Cheese's 1984 bankruptcy was closely tied to the failure of Atari and the video game crash. It originated under Atari Inc., and was bought by Nolan Bushnell in 1978 (founder of both companies). In 1985, Chuck E. Cheese's was purchased by rival knockoff company ShowBiz Pizza Place, which later became CEC Entertainment.
UPDATE 02-04-2021: Made another update to account for a new Popeyes, as well as adding Advance America's opening, and Le Macaron. A few other changes were made.
UPDATE 04-22-2021: A rewrite of the post-TG&Y tenants was done, including the mention of MJDesigns, more info on Amber's, and more accurate dates on King Dollar and Harbor Freight Tools. Removed tag [2000s].
UPDATE 07-14-2025: The post has received a new update by going over the center again, with most entries being rewritten for clarity or new information including adding new footnotes. More former tenants have been added with a few new tags being added or added back.
