Confucius Chinese Cuisine

An early 1990s advertisement for one of my favorite defunct eateries
Today a Walgreens, this was the home of one of my family's favorite places to eat in the 1990s, Confucius Chinese Cuisine (2322 Texas Avenue South). In older versions of this page, I provided two links comparing the 1995 aerial to the 2011 aerial. You can see the same thing with Historic Aerials or a copy of Google Earth (just search for the address).

Where Walgreens occupies today replaces two smaller buildings that it redeveloped in the early 2000s (this was before Walgreens pulled an even larger scheme at Villa Maria Road).

The first was a Chinese restaurant. Opening as Jade Garden in 1984 at 2322 Texas Avenue South, but in early 1987 it closed and was replaced with Confucius Chinese Cuisine.¹

My first Chinese food was from Piknik Pantry but it was Confucius Chinese Cuisine that I later loved.

While I sadly do not have a picture for Confucius Chinese Cuisine (and I did look, though buried on Project HOLD you can see the sign, however, I can't find it either), it was housed in a building at the corner of Brentwood and Texas Avenue. I still remember how cool it looked on the inside and out. It had a curved Chinese-style roof, the sign had one word in orange, one in green, and one in red. And those were lit up at night. Inside, to the right you had the restrooms, a mural was toward the front, with what appeared to be a crowd of tiny Buddhas playing, and the décor was mostly red and gold, with the aquarium bubbling in the background (complete with an eel that never became a dish).

It was my family's go-to place for Sunday after-church dinners. The buffet was a single line with some really good egg rolls but I don't know if it was good or if I just thought so because I was young and didn't know what good food tasted like (it was markedly better than the old Chinese buffets in town following its closure, which admittedly isn't saying much). However, there is evidence it really was special, as someone had requested the Hot and Sour Soup the restaurant offered and the owner, Howard Chang, couldn't give a recipe as it was in the way how it was prepared, not following a recipe (or mixing up whatever Sysco, et. al. provided). Regrettably, it closed in 2000.

Next door was Tops: The Office Products Store (1981-1987), and later replaced with College Station Pawn Shop, with its diamond logo. The pawn shop was, for years, wedged between two Chinese restaurants, Confucius Chinese Buffet and the far less elaborate-looking Imperial Chinese Restaurant at Brazos Square. Not too long after Confucius Chinese Cuisine's closure, it and College Station Pawn Shop were torn down for a Walgreens (using Confucius Chinese Cuisine's address). College Station Pawn Shop later moved to a space at Manuel and Texas Avenue for a while but it was later torn down for a bank, and by 2007 it was in Brazos Square, directly next to where it was.

1. Deed changes suggest it was initially leased to Confucius Chinese Cuisine and later buying the building outright before selling it to Walgreens.

UPDATE 11-05-2020: Clarified previous name and date. Previously updated February 2019 to account for more accurate closing date, revisions in writing, and cutting out Brazos Square info.
UPDATE 10-05-2025: Did some rewriting and added information on Tops. This current version doesn't mention the Brentwood signal, I think it was added within a year of Confucius Chinese Cuisine's closure.

University Apartments and Century Square

Trendy mixed-use right in the heart of the city! (Picture by author, 2/20)

This post was originally written as "University Apartments", which focused on the group of university-owned apartments that were largely torn down around 2014 for what we now know as Century Square. Initially, I had no interest in covering Century Square as I had updated the post to my standards at the time to wrap up the site (it's why there's an eight month gap between the last 2014 post and the first 2015 post). As a result, this covers the predecessor of Century Square, the University Apartments, first, and we'll progress to the present day and the current occupier of the site.

During my time at A&M, I was thankful that I had enough sense to photograph many buildings on their way out in terms of demolition or extensive renovation. I didn't get enough pictures of the old Scoates Hall, and no inside shots of Dulie Bell, but did get pictures of The Commons, Zachry Engineering Center, Read Building, G. Rollie White, and of course, these.

When making this post originally (or at least doing a significant update), I had done research at Cushing Memorial Library, which refers to Battalion articles that aren't available to be linked. Some of the links that were available, dating from the mid-2000s have been removed from the Battalion's webpage (with no Archive.org to rescue them, I didn't have enough sense back then to archive my links).

Originally rows and rows of two-level Army-style barracks filling up the diagonal-row roads in the early 1950s, with two complexes, College View and Southside, a federal grant in 1957 (to the tune of 2.5 million dollars, which would be about 20 million today) allowed more to be built.

From what I could tell, the original College View Apartments were Army-style barracks filling up the diagonal-row roads east of Northgate built in the early 1950s (at the same time Southside was built, which appeared to have been at the northeast corner of Wellborn and modern-day George Bush Drive, more on that another day).

In 1960, the Hensel Apartments (later Hensel Terrace Apartments) were built, and originally not air-conditioned (until likely the 1970s). The new College View Apartments, built in 1969, were built facing FM 60 and according to The Battalion were "cool, comfortable, and complete", being climate controlled at 70 degrees.

Interestingly, despite the new College View apartments replacing the old College View buildings on a 1:1 basis, only about 7 buildings were built. Nearly 30 others were torn down (a few lasting into the early 1980s, a footnote at a document called "Brazos Valley Chronology" at Project HOLD, mentions the last of these were removed in 1982) without replacement, and until the Century Square development, those spaces remained vacant, possibly due to lack of funding. The back 13 were redeveloped into Avenue A Apartments on a 1:1 replacement, but it was still a lot of vacant space. The 1970s also saw the construction of College Avenue Apartments, which were directly across College Avenue from University Square Shopping Center.

As time went on, the Married Student Housing became known as the "University Apartments", as it started to become known for international students as well. The maintenance of the apartments declined and the roads started to deteriorate, but there wasn't any major trouble. Piecemeal improvements were made to the complex, including the addition of the Becky Gates Children's Center, a 1997 addition on Hensel that would have childcare for students married with children. Later on a community center and playground were built as well. However, it was an incident in 2004 that did change the University Apartments forever.

One day in July 2004, residents complained about a smell of natural gas in the Hensel Terrace Apartments. The maintenance worker responded but decided to not repair the leak until the next week (in fact, they told residents to close their windows, thus making the smell inside worse). Saquib Ejaz, a resident of those apartments, lived with his wife and daughter at Hensel Apartments. His parents were visiting from Bangladesh. While his parents, wife (who was pregnant with another child), and daughter were home, the gas somehow ignited and fire consumed the apartment's interior, severely burning all four. His wife and father survived, but his daughter and mother did not. Other apartments were damaged, as well, however; the structure itself survived.

Lawsuits were filed, and by 2005, a number of new improvements were announced, including new stoves, new detectors, and much better maintenance. This still wasn't "enough" maintenance, as the apartment complex was still falling apart, with the College Avenue Apartments on Ball Street having unleveled floors.

However, by fall 2006, a plan was approved to add the Gardens at University, which, instead of building it on vacant land, would replace the existing apartments. When I first wrote this article in 2012, the College Avenue Apartments had been demolished in 2011 (without replacement), and two-thirds of the Hensel Terrace Apartments (including the rebuilt apartments where Ejaz's apartment was) had been torn down for the Gardens. Nothing else had been altered since then.

In early 2013 "Campus Pointe", a long-planned redevelopment of the area, was trotted out again and approved. This would essentially lease the university's land to a private developer, becoming one of the few shopping malls built on property leased from a university (Stanford Shopping Center is another example).

College View Apartments, Hensel Terrace Apartments, and Avenue A Apartments were marked for destruction--all residents had to move out. There were even stories of the mattresses being moved out first, so many had to make do with sleeping on the floor, and a new field designated for playing cricket (popular as most of the residents came from overseas) had to be closed. Despite (presumably) assistance, the apartments all near campus had much higher rent, and both Northgate and Southgate had undergone some degree of gentrification.

While The Gardens, the daycare, and the maintenance building were not affected and still stand, the demolition for redevelopment seemed to take a long time, for months, the abandoned apartments (speckled with graffiti) stood, then for many more months with just vacant land. Sometime during all of this, Campus Pointe was renamed to Century Square.

A friend and I took these in May 2013, soon before eviction in summer 2013 (the picture at the title is also from that):

Nobody's home.

Avenue A Apartments, which has eight units per building, four of which are seen here.

There is so much open space here, great for large group games or tossing a Frisbee around. Too bad this will go away...

College View Apartments. These face University Drive.

Hensel Terrace Apartments. Most of these are already gone, including the unit that exploded in 2004. It's worth noting that the building wasn't actually destroyed. The apartments have concrete foundations and despite being old and run-down, are better built then similar apartment complexes of the same era.

The Gardens at University Apartments. These will stick around.

Interesting vents on the University Apartments Maintenance Building.
For the next few years, the entire area was gated off as new construction began to take over, opening as Century Square.

The center would open in phases, with many of the restaurants coming in-line by fall 2017 (the hotels opened sooner). I haven't actually been to most of what Century Square has to offer...the parking is a major issue, in an effort to be more like Houston high-end development, the developers instituted paid parking everywhere except the garage (which also once had a strict time limit for staying).

The "mall space" is composed of a bunch of buildings floating in parking lots. As the way I'm going to explain it is going to be confusing, I recommend you look at the PDF directory to understand the layout. It's an archived version, and will go increasingly out of date as time goes on, but the link should stay up.

1025 University Drive - Located at the corner of the development, closest to the College Drive/University intersection, this building has, from left to right, Red's Ice House (opened February 2025), Orangetheory Fitness, Sharetea, and Piada Italian Street Food. All of these opened around 2017 except for Red's, which replaced Mo's Irish Pub (May 2018 to June 2024). I ate at Mo's Irish Pub not too long after it opened, it was an airy, modern space with cute waitresses, but average food with only a few token "Irish" dishes. Two vacancies are Merge Boutique and Clean Juice (given the last update, they closed between 2024 and 2025).

1099 University Drive - This is almost the same building as 1025 University Drive except there's a covered open-air walkway between them. This building has three tenants, Velvet Taco (opened September 2021 and the former home to Runway Seven, a women's clothing store, which closed sometime in 2019 after about two years...it looks like the other stores have since closed as well), Tiff's Treats, and Cava (opened 2023 to replace the original 2017 Zoë's Kitchen, which was phased out as a chain).

1133 University Drive - One of the new "Phase II" buildings from around 2024 has, from left to right, Original ChopShop (opened January 2025), Wells Fargo (moved from down the street), a full Sephora boutique (opened December 2024), a vacancy, and a space soon to be home of Dimassi's Mediterranean Buffet out of Houston.

1177 University Drive - This is the other new 2024 building, it features Houston TX Hot Chicken and CoCo Shrimp with two empty spaces between them. CoCo Shrimp opened in November 2024. I believe Houston TX Hot Chicken opened afterward.

1027 and 1037 University Drive - Directly behind the 1025/1099 building is 1027 and 1037, a two-story building that wraps around the parking garage. This is where Star Cinema Grill is, located on the second level with the 1037 address. The 1027 addresses face University Drive while 1037 faces Century Court. Working from the farthest corner on the map, there's TruFusion (boutique fitness club but not yet open as of this writing), Grass Stains (a specialty boutique with its only location here; the original location in Graham, Texas has since closed), College Station's own Lululemon (with its pricey, brand-name yoga pants), Harvest Coffee (opened 2018 after its original 2014 Downtown Bryan location), a vacancy (it was second local location of I Heart Mac and Cheese, opened September 2020 but closed in early 2022), and finally, Brazos Running Company, opened around 2023 and moved from Central Station. Beyond that is other vacant spaces.

166 Century Court - Directly east of the preceding building, 166 Century Court is a multi-story office building ("Century Square Two") with six retail tenants currently on the ground floor. Luchesse Bootmaker (opened early 2021), a vacancy (temporarily home to "selfie museum" Instaland BCS and soon to be RenewYou), King Ranch Saddle Shop (opened late 2020), Apricot Lane (opened early 2022), Onward Reserve (opened November 2019), Kendra Scott (opened early 2022), and Hemline, a women's clothing boutique out of New Orleans.

144 Century Court - To the east of the preceding building. Hopdoddy Burger Bar, Hey Sugar, and Ring Guards by Montelongo's, are all located here. Ring Guards opened to replace Sabi Boutique. Sabi Boutique had maintained at storefront at The Lofts at Wolf Pen Creek for years (even when they couldn't hold onto any other retailers) and opened a new location at Century Square in April 2019. However, within a few months of opening at Century Square they opened a University Drive East location a few months later. By May 2020 Sabi had decided to close the Century Square location. The other two places, Hopdoddy and Hey Sugar I've never bought anything from, and I have some less-than-flattering impressions that I could tell you about, but it would be bad form to disparage open businesses.

143 Century Court - The "mirror" of the preceding building to the east, on the other side of The Green (an open space for outdoor events and al fresco dining) has three more tenant spaces: Blaze Pizza, Lick Honest Ice Creams (opened in October 2022 to replace Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream, which closed in or around February 2020), and Sweet Paris Crêperie & Café. I've never been to Sweet Paris but I do know of it since it had replaced the Rice Village location of Texadelphia (a fact mentioned in our Texadelphia post).

175 Century Square Drive - The only retail tenant below the Century Square One office building is Galleria Spa Salon, formerly Galleria Day Spa (for years it used to be at the corner of Cavitt Drive and Villa Maria Drive, until it moved to Rock Prairie, which is still there). The office tenants include Breakaway Ministries, UBS Financial Services, and BRW Architects (among others).

Going counterclockwise around toward the back are two boutique hotels, "The George" (with "1791 Whiskey Bar" inside), which opened August 2017, and Cavalry Court, which opened November 2016 (one of the first tenants) with its "The Canteen" restaurant. Despite being a four-star hotel with off-season prices being around $120 a night (as of 2021), all the rooms open to the outside.

Directly behind The Green was Poppy (named after the late Bush 41's nickname). Sometime right around very early 2020 before you-know-what happened, Poppy closed for an upscale Mexican concept, opening in May 2022 as Juanita's Tex Mex Cantina (it was delayed, but it happened). West of Juanita's is Porters Dining + Butcher, a high-end (well, at least for College Station) steakhouse.

170 Century Square Drive - Finally, to the east of the complex is 100 Park, an apartment building that fits into the whole modern "mixed-use" concept, though not oriented toward students. At the bottom of this apartments include Pokéworks (opened January 2020) and MESS Waffles, which opened October 2018. This used to be known as Wafology, which was mentioned at the 711 University Drive article. There's also (opened 2024) an Amazon Pickup & Returns Store.

1289 University Drive - The first tenant to come...and go...Neighbors Emergency Center opened in October 2016 but closed around August 2016. This opened in October 2016 as Neighbors Emergency Center, a private 24-hour care emergency clinic that was the first open tenant in the Century Square development. However, it closed within about 10 months. In November 2018, CapRock Urgent Care opened in its place, and in spring 2021, became Integrity Urgent Care as CapRock sold off most of its facilities.

Of course, Century Square didn't take up all of the old University Apartments facilities. In August 2024, PopStroke (a miniature golf/sports bar concept owned by Tiger Woods) opened at 255 Ball Street on the site of the Ball Street Apartments (but not using up all the space) and in summer 2025, "Varcity", a retirement community was announced, which would take up all the old space leftover from demolition.



UPDATE 01-04-2021: After adding Century Square in the fourth edit version to this page in February 2020, the fifth edit to this page includes some tenant changes and other minor fixes.
UPDATE 07-10-2021: Minor updates, but the only thing of note was Integrity Urgent Care (CapRock sold).
UPDATE 12-13-2021: Added Velvet Taco and minor update regarding Poppy, as well as UBS.
UPDATE 04-23-2024: 2024 update for all stores and services at Century Square. Every paragraph was gone through and retouched. Cava, Apricot Lane, Brazos Running Company, Juanita's, and more were all added.
UPDATE 08-17-2024: Mo's Irish Pub closed in June 2024. In August 2024, PopStroke (a miniature golf/sports bar concept owned by Tiger Woods) opened at 255 Ball Street on the site of the Ball Street Apartments (but not using up all the space).
UPDATE 02-16-2025: Red's Ice House opened (well, it opens 2/17) to replace Mo's.
UPDATE 06-12-2025: 2025 update for all stores and services at Century Square. Every paragraph was gone through and retouched with two all-new buildings. [cinema] and [mini-golf], two all-new tags, have been added.
UPDATE 02-06-2026: The vacant Clean Juice has been replaced by 4 Brother NY Bagels. Merge Boutique's space is currently occupied by the leasing office for The Penny, the new apartment building going up at 415 College Main. Also, Trufusion still doesn't appear to be open yet and Lululemon moved next to Coco Shrimp. Dimassi's opened in 2025.

Culpepper Plaza / Central Station

Signage and Chick-fil-A, May 2019
Culpepper Plaza (renamed as Central Station following a 2007 renovation) opened in March 1976 with a Safeway (later AppleTree) and a full collection of other retail stores. Even into the 1990s it had large stores like Weiner's, Eckerd, and AppleTree, but by the early 2000s these were gone, prompting a large-scale remodel starting in late 2006.

je of Southern Retail did send me a screencap of a video taped at some point in the 1990s; regrettably, it's a photo of a television screen and poor quality. You can see that here. Below is an ad of Culpepper Plaza circa 1988. It lists Quick as a Flash, which is strange since not even the parking lot is connected.

Early advertisement for Culpepper Plaza. Most, if not all, of the tenants are described below.
I've created a list of tenants from directory listings, newspaper archives, and others, and while the list continues to be improved as far as historical tenants go it's still not complete as I'm sure I may have missed something. Starting from the block next to 1503 Texas Avenue South is where the addresses start. To assist visual learners, I've added PDF (archived from here) though it appears to date from prior to 2017.

It also has some extra stuff that (like Central Station 2) that currently isn't covered yet. We'll start with 33 on the map, as that's the lowest address, 1505A. It appears that this was a second phase, built in the early 1980s. 1505A - As far as back as 1981, this was the local Bennigan's restaurant. I never ate at Bennigan's, but it had an old mural (of the logo, nothing special) facing Texas Avenue. It survived the Central Station remodeling, but it closed in July 2008 when the parent company imploded. Later, it became an AT&T store, which it is today. This was one of the stores on the "smaller strip" and facing Texas Avenue. While the AT&T store is quite spacious, imagining it as a full-service restaurant looks a little cramped.

1505B - Space 32 on the map, the first reference for a restaurant here is "Shrimpboat" (1981-1982), then Oscar's (1983-1984), then A Good Humor Bar (1984-1985), then a restaurant called Singapore starting in 1986.
(pic) In 1991 it became China Wok (a close turnover in May 1991 between Singapore and China Wok suggest a name change, given that Singapore was advertising new management in 1990) and it closed in 2005, replaced with Ping's Buffet (2005-2015), then He's Cafe (2015-2019), then F&F Japanese Grill" (Fast & Furious Japanese Grill) since 2021.

1507 - Space 31A on the map, from 1979 to October 2005 this was Swensen's. Swensen's was a great ice cream parlor (they also had a few food items like hamburgers and hot dogs) at its peak, they had things like kids' meals in paper foldout pink Cadillacs, a "clown face" ice cream using an inverted cone as the hat, and a bunch of other things. It also gets coverage in the 1979 TAMU yearbook, a two-page spread!

After a short time as Little Blue Heron, a steakhouse/seafood restaurant, it became Firehouse Subs in December 2008.

1509 - Space 31 on the map and from summer 2009 to late summer 2014, this was the location of Spoons Yogurt, which I believe was a student project at Mays Business School and quickly franchised under the name "3 Spoons Yogurt", with locations opening as far away as Clemson, SC, Lawrence, KS, and Knoxville, TN, but they all failed. Only the locations built in Texas (Huntsville, Waco) did well and remained open.¹ Spoons closed in fall 2014 and became Galaxy Ice Cream & Bubble Tea (a/k/a Galaxy Tea House), but Spoons Yogurt reopened in the space by late September 2015...and restored the cafe to its original appearance before closing for good in early 2020 (before COVID I believe...the other locations were sold to another operator and rebranded as Farmhouse Frozen Yogurt). By spring 2021 it became Rush Bowls, which closed a few years later before becoming a location of Midnight Cravingz in August 2025. I think 1509, as a space, only came about after Little Blue Heron closed and the space was divided.

1511 - Marked as space 30 on the map, in 1980 this was "Mother Nature Home of Nutrition" and later Games Galore back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1995 it opened as a Mail Boxes Etc. store and rebranded in 2003 as The UPS Store.

1517 - The current Eyemart seems to have a few smaller tenants over the years. 1513 was used forr Schmaltz's Sandwich Shop in 1980 (it sounds a lot like Schlotzsky's (it's still in Waco! Does that that not look suspiciously like another better-known sandwich?) and briefly around 1987-1988 it was Peso Exchange and then for Dollar Tree from 1996 to 2007. 1515 had been used for Godfather's Pizza from 1980 to 1988. There was also a "Luvz Jewelers" in 1517 in the 1990s as well (per directories). The modern history of this tenant starts in 2009 when it became Muldoon's Coffee House in fall 2009 before closing in fall 2014. Following this it became Eyemart Express.

1519 - Supercuts has been here since 1989, but in 1982 it was the College Station location of Jack 'n' Jill Donuts (they also served frozen yogurt at that location). I'm guessing that it probably disappeared around the same time the Bryan location did.

1521 - Space 27 on the map started out as a restaurant called "Little Mexico" in 1980 and in mid-1982 became Texas Tumbleweed, a steakhouse chain (with the tagline, "Everything A Steakhouse Used to Be")² In September 1986 it closed after the chain went bankrupt. It served briefly as the home of StageCenter and was to even be there the whole 1986-1987 season but it was leased out last minute with Cow Hop Junction opening in 1988³. Cow Hop Junction was a spin-off of the Cow Hop in Northgate but it also closed within a few years.

This was first added to this site over ten years ago, but not on this page.
Pancho's Mexican Buffet was here from early 1992 to around 1999. I never liked it because of the large, creepy "sun masks" hanging above the dining area. Los Cucos Mexican Cafe replaced in 1999. 1601 - Going back over to the end of the plaza near Dominik Drive and marked as 01 on the map, this space has traditionally housed a large restaurant though sadly it hasn't been a restaurant for a number of years. (Researching this has been difficult since results for 1601 S. Texas Avenue show up as well). Rosewood Junction opened in 1978 and was named after (and operated by) an eponymous progressive country-bluegrass band that had been formed shortly before the opening of the restaurant. It closed in 1981 and was replaced by Tecs in 1982, a bar and grill with what appears to be a "modern" 1980s theme, with arcade games and a "Flashing Neon Special" ("At any time on any day, get fantastic bar specials when our good times bartenders switch [on] the flashing bar neon"). This was owned by David Tinsley (of Tinsley's Chicken-N-Rolls, other restaurants in the area and Waco were under his company at one time). Sometime around 1983 it was retooled as Padre Cafe, with a new theme and menu (especially to de-emphasize the alcohol aspect), but it closed in December 1985. It was briefly Creole Cafe though that ceased operating after just a few months. In May 1987 it reopened as Evie Brown's Good Times Cafe but it closed in May 1988.⁴ In summer 1989, Mama's Pizza opened⁵, relocating from 1037 Texas Avenue South but it closed in 1991.

From 1992 to 1999, this was Bullwinkle's Grill & Bar was located at the very end of Culpepper Plaza, closest to Dominik Road. I do vaguely remember visiting it when I was younger, and it's still talked about on TexAgs sometimes.

I believe I scanned this from a phonebook.
Even though Bullwinkle's only operated for seven years, that was more than what any other restaurant could brag. Around December 1999, City Crab Seafood opened but that too failed before its one year anniversary. After a brief stay as "Pour House" (beer and some food items, but mostly beer) in early 2003, it was soon sold to be Margarita Rocks (newspaper archives suggest that Margarita Rocks was getting stuffed checked off with the TABC while Pour House was still operating), with the new Margarita Rocks operating by late 2003. Margarita Rocks was another relatively successful operation, closing in August 2009 after six years. The restaurant was replaced by Katsuya in 2011. At this point, I'm not sure if it opened. I read that a kitchen fire early on ended it, but the source has been discredited. Either way, the sign remained up for another year. Sadly, this also meant the legacy of restaurants here would come to an end. TITLE Boxing Club, the first non-restaurant in the space, operated from late 2014 to early 2020 (or very late 2019), and a few years later, after the 2020-2021 issues got squared away, The Cut Axe Throwing opened in around December 2021.

1607 - Listed as "2" in the directory. In 1980 this was That Place II (also known as That Place), a hair salon, and became Glamour Hair Studio around 1990. By 2000, Total Tan opened, and this operated through the renovation of the plaza until around 2011. After a brief period of vacancy became Apex Salon and Cuttery. In 2019, Funky Cheveux moved from Post Oak Square. It was operational until some point in 2024, and records show that it may have been briefly Priscilla Flores Hair. Funky's old Instagram shows that Priscilla was one of the stylists there, so it assumes an easy transition, but as of January 2026 the space has been vacated.

1609 - Marked as "03" on the map, this has been H&R Block since 1992 and for many years, even into the early 2020s, occupied 1611 as well. In 1981, 1609 was taken by Al's Formal Wear and remained that way for most of the 1980s.

1611 - Serendipity Shop was the first tenant I can find here back in 1978, a gift shop. By 1981, 1611 was taken by Bride 'n Formal (a long-defunct bridal salon owned by the tuxedo-focused Al's). While it was occupied with H&R Block for many years as auxiliary space, by early 2026 it was an Avis/Budget storefront. 1613 - Lewis' Shoe Stores was the first tenant here in 1979 and by 1986 was the home of Brazos County Republican Headquarters. The next reference I can find to theis address is Victoria Beauty Spa in 2001, which was active at least through the end of 2008. From early 2012 to early 2015 this was Grateful Dog Self-Serve Dog Wash. Despite constantly advertising on TexAgs, I was not sold on the idea of a dog wash place--with all the effort it takes to load a filthy dog into your car and pay someone for use with presumably hoses and soap, why not just use your hose at home? It 2017, it reopened as Sweet Horse Bubble Tea, a "dessert café" with rolled ice cream and bubble tea. Historically, this was once part of (store space-wise) Lewis Shoe Store back in the 1980s (even in 1980). I don't have information on what it was prior to that, I know that it was one of the many vacant stores on that end of the shopping center. Sweet Horse closed sometime around 2020, not too long after a second location in H-E-B Jones Crossing closed (probably a reason for the parent company's demise—the H-E-B location did a terrible business). This was replaced with GLGT Bubble Tea (Good Luck Good Time). The map I have marks 04 and names it as "College Station Bubble Tea" but it was Sweet Horse at the time.

1617 - The first reference I can find for this address is U.S. Black Belt Academy in 1989, but the last reference I can find for it as this address was an article about the eighth year of its "Ninja Turtle Day Camp" in 1995. I know that before Tanaka Ramen opened in 2017 it was vacant for a VERY long time (after the center was renovated, still empty). Marked as "05" on the map.

1619 - Labeled as "06" on the map, this was originally the home of "Animal World Too" (spin-off of a long-standing Manor East Mall store) from 1978 to 1985.⁶ From 1985 to 1994 this was Lippman Music which moved to Northgate, which at the time, was cheaper rent than Culpepper Plaza (according to what newspaper results told)...and rent was a deciding factor in permanently closing Lippman Music in 2017. Around 1997 Coach's Liquor opened here though it looks like it co-existed with the Southgate store. In spring 2014 the store closed (no doubt a difficult time with Spec's on the other side), and In October 2017 it reopened as Honolulu Poke House (which closed in January 2021). In 2025 it became Tao Rice Roll.

1621 - Marked as 07 on the map, this was originally The Seat Cover, a womens clothing boutique. In 1983 newspapers marked the opening of Corn Popper (gourmet popcorn, presumably, if so, the first store of such in College Station, even if such a thing was short-lived). In the mid-1990s this was an art store called Gallagher's Gallery, later rebranded as Aggieland Depot to focus more on TAMU gifts and artwork by the early 2000s, but disappeared after 2003. Sometime in the 2010s, a State Farm agent (Scot Semple) moved in.

1623 - Marked as 08 on the map, this was first the home of Douglas Jewelry in 1980 and after closing around 1987 became Luvz Jewelry & Accessories (before it jumped over to 1517 in the 1990s). In 1993 it became the home of Triple Crown Sportscards and that closed around 1996 before becoming Discount Tobacco in 1997. This operated until around the mid-2000s and was vacant for a while in the revived Central Station but it later became Breezesmokes⁷, which operated from 2013 to 2015. Signature Eyebrow Threading replaced it but was also gone within a few years. In January 2024, it reopened as vegan bakery chain Cinnaholic.

1637 - P.O.E.T.S. Billiards⁸ takes up a block space and opened in 2001. Looking at previous tenants that were absorbed, 1625 was American Passenger Travel Agency in 1980 and operated until around 1984. In 1989, The Logical Place (computers) opened, which used to be known as E&L Computers, and at University Square⁹ moved in. By the end of 1993, however, The Logical Place was gone, having been seized by the IRS for tax evasion. A 1996 directory put this as Linder's High Tech Health, and in November 1998 it was Tres Aggie Gun, "specializing in collectible firearms and ammunition". This operated into spring 2000. 1627 was Sandy's Shoes originally. An old comment (anonymously submitted) explained that Sandy's Shoes was named after the owner and opened in 1977. In 1982 it closed and Containers & More was open by the end of the year, but I can't find anything past that point. Likewise, 1629 Texas was Aggieland T-Shirts in 1979-1980 but no other references later, and I assume it was absorbed into Hastings, the occupant of 1631 and operated until around 1997 when it relocated to a space next to H-E-B Pantry at Holleman Drive. There was no 1633 as far as I can tell (always part of Hastings, I guess). R. Rush & Company (clothing) was located in 1635 initially (I assume that it moved from another location in town) but no references for that address after 1981. For 1637 I can't find ANY references prior to 2001. I assume Hastings absorbed the space and P.O.E.T.S. (marked as 09 on the map) moved in afterwards. (No 1639).

1641 - Marked as "10" on the map, this started as a second location of Wyatt's Sporting Goods in 1979, a locally owned company that had its roots in Northgate and already was arguably one of College Station's oldest businesses. While the other Wyatt's stores disappeared, the business continued in 1992 with a new owner purchasing the store and renaming it as Rick's Sporting Goods. I'm not sure what happened to Rick's Sporting Goods. By 2011 the space was vacant (I can't verify prior to that) but tax records are still active for the business, moving to his owner Richard Gorzycki's house, yet there's no online storefront, even. Sad to see arguably one of the oldest businesses to town become a ghost, but in any case, by the late 2010s the vacancy was finally filled with a new location of Delta Life Fitness (this article suggests that the location was relocated from a different spot in town) though by 2022 was vacant again (I suspect it perished in 2020). As of February 2026 it has been filled with Legacy Athletics.

1643 - From what I can find is this opened as "World of Books" in the late 1970s with an emphasis on Bibles, children's books, cookbooks, and other religious titles (plus jewelry) and in 1982 changed hands to just being "The Book Shoppe" and in 1983 became Samson's Bookery before becoming Champion Rentals (rent-to-own appliances) by 1986. By 1989 it was Lease Town (I believe this later moved to Manor East Mall's strip mall portion, ultimately becoming "Rent City" by the early 2000s before folding). I can't find what it was in the 1990s (if anything) but it reopened in 2012 as Painting with a Twist. In February 2023 it was to be closed but it looks like it was sold and reopened under new ownership. (This is marked as "11" on the map).

1659 - This was originally part of Weiner's (see next entry) and marked as "12A" on the map before opening as Anna's Linens in 2008. In June 2015, Anna's Linens went the way of Weiner's and closed. It became Wally's Party Factory as of summer 2016. Within about a year, that became Party City (for reasons I'm not entirely sure of) until the chain liquidated in early 2025. Later that year it reopened as Crazy Top Deals, which looks almost temporary (just a banner) and might be. There was a fistfight in the parking lot that same day (archived video, contains language and violence)⁹.

1661 - Houston-based Weiner's was here from 1978 to 1998. In summer 1998, Baskin's opened before moving to Tejas Center around 2003. Dollar Tree moved to this location in 2007 from a different place in the strip. 1663 - This was Kids Mart (childrens apparel chain) from 1984 to 1996¹⁰. By 1999 it was home to American Wholesale Mattress (renamed, along with its Bryan location, as All American Sleep & Mattress sometime in late 2001 or early 2002). Not too long after this was vacated and it would remain for a few years before Cato Fashions moved in from 1671 (which was demolished for Kohl's). Cato Fashions also seems to have absorbed the original 1665 Texas Avenue, Hallmark (Starship Hallmark, a franchise found in many Texas malls in the 1980s and 1990s). Additionally, the first local location of Holze Music Company landed here in 1997, was here in the late 1990s and early 2000s (departing in 2006).

1667 - 1667 started as Shala's Apparel Gallery in 1980 (also using the address of 1667-B), the new name of Shala's Shoes, which was located at 707 Texas Avenue prior to this. By the time it went out of business in the fall of 1985 it seems to have focused on apparel and accessories.

The demise of Shala's likely had to do with the poor economy at the time.
It is a little confusing as to what happened next. By spring of 1986 it was the home of Douglas Jewelers (there was a report of a robbery there in March 1986, and again mentioned in July 1986), and in the fall became Suzanne's, an off-price clothing shop with stores from New Mexico to Florida.11, and the continued references to Douglas Jewelers are to 1667-B. Suzanne's went under in December 1991 but Douglas Jewelers lived on. By 1994 it became Sew Vac City before it moved around 2003 (maybe 2002) to a new location in the parking lot of H-E-B. Douglas Jewelers remained until 2008. Brazos Running Company opened in 2012 before moving to 1717, and after another period of vacancy became Grand Nail Spa by the early 2020s. This is marked as 15 on the map. It is also possible part of this tenant was removed for the Kohl's building.

1669 - Earliest reference I can find for this address is Singer Sewing Center (Singer sewing machine dealer) in 1986, though was Radio Shack's first location. Around early 1992 it disappeared and was replaced by Dollar World, but that's the last reference I can find for it. It was one of the spaces demolished for Kohl's.

1671 - The earliest reference I can find for 1671 is in 1981 with R. Rush and Company ("Men's & Women's Tradiitonal Apparel") and in 1982, Sassafras, a women's clothing boutique, opened. Between 1986 and 1990 this was replaced with Colberts College Station (another apparel retailer), and between spring 1993 and spring 1994 this closed with Cato Fashions opening April 1994. Cato would later operate in this space until 2005, likely moving as the store block was slated for demolition for Kohl's.

1673 - The first reference I can find for 1673 was Rosanne's in 1978, a "career woman" store. David's Shoe Box as of 1983, and the last home of Radio Shack, which moved in shortly after afterwards. It received the RadioShack branding later, but this disappeared in the mid-2000s for the redevelopment and was never replaced. After all, there was another store just a few miles down the road at Post Oak Mall.

1701 - Kohl's occupies a huge block of the center these days, having opened in September 2007 and displacing other stores, but it appears that 1701 was never used as an address in Culpepper. Addresses exclusively seem to point to Western Sizzlin (see our post) and some discussions of 1703 refer to it being next to Radio Shack.

1703 - The Curiosity Shop was one of Culpepper's first tenants, opening in September 1976. I can't find any references to it past 1983 and in 1991 it became McGuffey's. By summer 1992 it became Babe's Boutique, which had moved from Post Oak Village. In 1995 it became a Bruegger's Bagels, which was expanding during that time¹² and in 1998 became The Bagel Station (likely a franchisee dispute). At first, The Bagel Station did well, announcing a second location at the new Rock Prairie Crossing but this location closed in 2002, and by the end of 2003 The Bagel Station was gone at Culpepper Plaza, liquidated at auction. Nothing replaced it after that (torn down for Kohl's).

1705 - This store space first held Top Drawer Pant Company (1976-1981), then Krista's Court and Casuals (~1987, may not have opened), and in 1988 became Floppy Joe's Software Store.

1996 ad (source)
According to comments received (edited for clarity), "Floppy Joe's was a place that rented out mostly PC games and later some console games. You left with your rentals in a gallon size Ziploc baggie full of 3.5's. I frequented that place quite a bit, a husband and wife ran it, he was going to A&M and I believe went on to work for Dell, really cool people, but a younger guy bought the store (I think he mentioned his grandparents fronting the money), could have been a sign of the times but it did not last after that."

As an aside on Floppy Joe's, I have to wonder how that even worked, as PC games in that time had notorious copy-protection schemes that often involved looking something up in the manual or on a piece of paper, so I'm wondering if they rented out the cracked copies, which in turn could be re-copied on another floppy disk. After Floppy Joe's it was Juice Stop (1998-1999), Muscle-Tech (2000-2002), and Beignet City Cafe (2003-2004?).

1707 - Earliest reference for this address is Regan's in 1976. It closed in the early 1980s and became the new home of R. Rush & Company (which had been in other spots in the plaza). In 1987, Waterbed World opened, which replaced Waterbeds Unlimited at Brazos Square (which closed in January). Tempo Fashions moved here in 1989, then became The Right Price in 1991 (discount clothing store). The Right Price closed in fall 1995 and RentMart opened in September 1997. It was taken over by Aaron's not too long after, but closed in 1999 for similar business Rent-to-Buy, which in turn was replaced with Select Furnishings & Rentals (all this happened in a three year timespan). In fall 2001 it was Aggieland Futon Headquarters, opened as Sas Trading Co. in fall 2003, and closed in late 2006 as it was to be demolished.

1709 - Eckerd was here from 1976 to 2000 when it moved to 2411 Texas Avenue South. I don't have 2411 Texas Avenue South up on the website yet but it's still there, having converted to CVS in 2005.

1711 - Originally home to Carnaby Square, a women's clothing shop. However, references to the address disappear for almost a decade until Payless ShoeSource took up shop in 1990. It closed in 2005. Much like RadioShack, it did not stick around for the redevelopment of the center and the nearby Post Oak Mall location was favored (also like RadioShack, it only survived until the chain went bankrupt). This was the last small store demolished for Kohl's.

1713 - Tax records show this being home to Court's Western Wear from 1976 to the mid-1980s, becoming "The Clothestime" until around the mid-1990s. It then became CiCi's Pizza in 1996. CiCi's Pizza moved to 1905 Texas Avenue South in 2006, and afterward was vacant until become HobbyTown USA (closed in 2015 after being open for about five years). In June 2016, Nothing Bundt Cakes replaced it. (24 on the map).

1717 - I don't think this address was used before the Central Station redo, likely a part of CiCi's as it is marked with 24A on the map (and CiCi's was definitely bigger than the cake shop). This moved here from c. 2013 from Post Oak Mall but closed om the Best Buy/Barnes & Noble shopping center) until it closed in December 2017. I did buy a few video games here used, but many of the merchandise was in poor shape (particularly strategy guides) and overpriced (even before the current retro craze), and the trade-in values were a poor value. After FX closed, Brazos Running Company relocated here before relocating to Century Square between 2022 and 2023. I believe Kay Jewelers absorbed the space.

1723 - From 1996 to 2022, this was Sally Beauty Supply (wiped out in a chainwide purge). From 1986 to 1996 this was Shoe World. A few years later Kay Jewelers moved in (another Post Oak Mall refugee).

1725 - The star of the show, of course, was originally Safeway, opened in 1976 as one of the biggest supermarkets in town (not quite as large as Skaggs Albertsons, but still one of the largest Safeway stores in Texas when it opened). 1725 stretched all the way to the end of the supermarket. In 1988, parent company Safeway Stores Inc. sold off the Houston division, with the stores renamed as AppleTree in 1989. I only have vague memories of AppleTree myself as H-E-B Pantry and Kroger quickly became favorites and other supermarkets in town, including Winn-Dixie and Albertsons were scarcely seen. Despite surviving past the chain's collapse in December 1993, AppleTree closed in November 2002 it closed due to heavy competition and the building was extensively renovated inside and out. Half of the building (and the 1725 address) remained unused until 2012 when OfficeMax (#6501) moved into the side that Spec's didn't use. The store was smaller than the one it replaced just down the road and it closed around December 2017, presumably so the company could consolidate with the Office Depot down the street. In 2019, it reopened as TJX Companies' HomeGoods.

1729 - This address was first used with Spec's Wine, Spirits, and Finer Foods in 2007. Spec's has rearranged some stuff since it opened but remains very similar otherwise. While Houston was familiar with Spec's, there was nothing like it when it opened in College Station.

1727 - We jump over to the building across the parking lot behind the Exxon (not part of the center). From 1977 to 1993 this was 3C Bar-B-Q (later renamed Bar-B-Que Barn by 1992). Afterwards, it became Souper Salad, based out of Houston. It closed around 2011 with several other stores in that timeframe.¹³ In 2013 it reopened as Napa Flats Wood-Fired Kitchen.

1731 - Originally, this was a second restaurant, Reveille's Restaurant opening, but references to it disappeared after the late 1970s with the next mention being University Bookstore in 1992. Apparently the restaurant was converted to the bookstore without a change in ownership, but I can't find when this happened. It closed in 2006 with the chain's failure and reopened as Sleep Station in 2007.

Now this doesn't cover "Central Station 2" near Dominik Drive, a mini-mall of smaller shops, and in the current version of this page doesn't even cover Chick-fil-A, which was built as an outparcel. There may be some links that refer to the Burger King/Chick-fil-A here, but this will be fixed in due time.

1. As of January 2026, they STILL remain open!
2. By 1982 standards, so whatever that used to be. I'm not even sure that in these days we can go back to what had long fallen out of fashion by the early 2000s, large poorly-lit dining rooms. T-Bone Jones was like that, and it was a relic, even back then.
3. StageCenter moved to Westgate Center. They had moved to Culpepper Plaza after the roof of the Palace Theater collapsed. I'm not sure why Cow Hop Junction (and later Pancho's) was labeled as 1521-A, though. Pancho's at least occupied the whole building that Los Cucos now has.
4. The previous version of this page referred to a restaurant called "Jumping Jack Flash". This was the same restaurant, with the trade name being Evie Brown's Good Times Cafe.
5. Tax records indicate there was another restaurant, "Taco Tempo", that signed a lease. It may not have opened and if it did, only was there for a month.
6. Meanwhile, the Manor East Mall Animal World ended up lasting into the very early 2000s just before the mall closed for good.
7. Stylized as "breezEsmokes", which implies that it was to be pronounced as "breeze e-smokes" or "breezy smokes" as opposed to "breeze smokes". 8. Trying to find out what "P.O.E.T.S." stands for has thus far proved elusive. Shoot me an email if you know the answer.
9. The position of the video is almost certainly taken from inside the State Farm office.
10. News articles mention that 100 stores closed that year. I suspect the rest of the chain went under not too long after.
11. Despite the large spread of Suzanne's, precious little can be found on it. There were dozens of stores located in Texas in its peak, it operated in Florida as per official records, but beyond that I can't find much on it.
12. Its net increase/decrease has been surprisingly solid. It has grown and shrunk over the years but in June 1995 it had 160 stores and was growing fast, it still has, as of March 1, 2026, 167 stores nationwide.
13. A "Souper Salad" concept at Sbisa around 1979-1980 was almost certainly unrelated, but likely modeled after the then-new Souper Salads restaurant near Rice University.

UPDATE 03-05-2026: Major update. Almost every entry has been rewritten with lots more information and a dazzling list of footnotes. The Burger King/Chick-fil-A part has also been removed. Previous updates archived.

The Lost Buildings of Luther Street and Wellborn Road

At one time, the block where Berkeley House is featured a fine dining establishment in a converted house (from Center Magazine)

This is one of the posts I've had for years on the blog and despite tons of rewrites still may come off as disjointed, and needs a bit of a proper introduction.

Today, the entire block features a large apartment building, Berkeley House (opened fall 2018), a student-oriented complex. It is impossible to take a good photo of it, as it comes up to the street, and I can't take a photo from the other side, as Wellborn has a curb next to it. As a result, Google Street View will have to suffice, though it is currently not updated yet, only showing the old thrift store that was there.

When I was a kid growing up in the mid-1990s, this corner featured a small convenience store that sold Chinese food, perhaps some of the first (Americanized) Chinese food I've ever had (that or Confucius Chinese Cuisine). Later on it became a thrift store but my father had an old 1940s map of the campus and surrounding area that listed the building as "Hrdlicka Café". What was this café, and how did it become a thrift store?

Over the years, through research and other help, these answers and more were revealed.

In 1919, a house at what would be 801 Wellborn Road was built by Ed Hrdlicka ("1" on the map below). Eventually, the house passed on to Ed's daughter Marilyn, and her husband Jack Fugate. In the late 1970s, the house was converted into a restaurant—Fish Richards Half-Century House. Fish Richard's menu featured seafood, lamb, and prime rib along with a selection of wines.

Apparently the reason that Fish Richard's closed was due to a divorce by the couple that owned it (some ads in the final days of Fish Richard's discussed a new future location), but the building burned to the ground in 1988, and the 801 Wellborn address went unused for years, until the construction of Berkeley House.

#2 on the map was 803 Wellborn, and wrecked sometime in the late 1990s, likely around the time of the demise of Piknik Pantry (below). This was the home of Fugate's printing press and laundromat businesses and later home to Fish Richards Bakery, the bakery operation of Fish Richard's, which sold a variety of baked goods all day, every day (except Sunday afternoons). I read somewhere (but lost the source) that this was the original supplier for Subway when it came into town in the early 1980s. Ad can be found here.

#3 on the map was 805 Wellborn. This was the likely site of the eponymous Hrdlicka Café from 1920 to the mid-1940s, a student beer joint, dancing hall, and storefront grocery store. "Uncle Ed" leased the store shortly before his death in the early 1950s and by 1957 it was operated by Ed Krolczyk, who tried to make barbecue from "any kind of meat" and claimed to make a great barbecued raccoon.

By the 1960s it was replaced with a convenience store, the Piknik Pantry with Amoco gas (certainly by 1972), though 1980 phone book says "811 Old College Road", indicating not only a rename later (likely holding over from the days when Wellborn and Old College were one and the same, as Wellborn did not extend to Villa Maria but instead curved to Old College) but a renumbering (or just an error). Piknik Pantry & Chinese Food (it sold Chinese food later, and research even shows that an old Chinese restaurant at 3030 E. 29th, Sing Lee, had the same owner) mets its demise in the late 1990s and was quickly replaced with 2nd Chance Resale Shop, operated by Twin City Mission. Based on Chamber of Commerce newspaper clippings, this probably first opened in late 1997 with Piknik Pantry meeting its demise shortly prior. Sometime in the mid-2010s (2016 I believe) it moved to a new location and in 2017, it was torn down for Berkeley House. According to a comment I received in 2015, it featured an all-you-can-eat buffet on Sundays (back in the '80s) for just four or five dollars. The same comment references the gas pumps as well.

There were two more businesses in that block that I haven't labeled.

At 809 Old College (location unknown) there was Astraptes, an "adult disco" nightclub. There's rumors on forums (where it was misspelled as "Astropates", among others) that this was the closest thing to a gay bar College Station had, and according to Houston LGBT History (link sort-of NSFW), it was, mentioning after closure it reopened in 1983 (if briefly--and it's the only Google result that spells the name correctly).

This one is from the 1980 phone book published by GTE.
There was a fifth business, the Peanut Gallery, at 813 Old College, and that seems to be based on what was there on aerials, that it was the metal building directly next to Piknik Pantry. By the 21st century this was just storage for the resale shop. Today, of course, everything described in this post is long-gone. The thrift store and everything around was leveled in 2017 for the aforementioned Berkeley House apartments. Officially it uses 805 Wellborn but some references use 801 Wellborn, site of the Hrdlicka/Fugate homestead.

UPDATE 03-11-2025: The last big update was done in August 2019 with a new name to the post in April 2020. Later [Death by Fire] was added. However, new research has shown that Fish Richard's closed in January 1986 before burning in 1988. [1910s] and [demolished] have been added.