Finfeather's 7-Eleven

It wasn't too long before this 2005 picture that the gas station was conveniently located. (source). I fixed it up from Newspapers.com so it looked a little nicer.
One of the posts that was added in 2010 (March 2, 2010; there were originally far more posts from 2010 and 2011 than the current Index would suggest) focused on the north end of Wellborn Road and Finfeather. Today, we're re-visiting that (a post resurrection of sorts—parts of this post are fifteen years old!) by examining a former 7-Eleven at that corner.

In the mid-to-late 1970s Villa Maria Road was extended from Texas Avenue all the way out to FM 2818, creating two stoplights, one at Finfeather and the other at the extension of Wellborn Road from F&B Road. In the days when pre-bankruptcy Southland Corporation was first on the scene with new 7-Eleven stores/Citgo gas stations on the fringes on the development, a store opened up at Finfeather and West Villa Maria Road in 1978 (3300 Finfeather Road). In 1993 it became E-Z Mart due to Southland selling off hundreds of stores across different markets. (In Houston, the stores had already been sold off to National Convenience Stores, aka Stop 'n Go; in Waco, the stores were sold to Circle K; it really depended on the market).

Despite the fact that going to Bryan more often than not meant a visit to the pediatric dentist, I always liked the intersection growing up. Maybe it was because it was unique among the other crossings on Wellborn Road that Wellborn dipped below the railroad grade by up to sixteen feet before they came together again at the light, maybe it was the fact that both signals would go down even if it was only one train on the track (for safety reasons, obviously, even though it wasn't a true "two-track" crossing), maybe it was the fact that one track curved and one didn't.



The intersection as it was c. early 2004. Click to see full resolution.
The underpass construction officially started in late 2004 (though the real construction began in 2005); around this time the convenience store converted to "E-Z For You" (as I mentioned before here). By late 2010 the intersection was complete and the gas station, rather than closing, converted its signage to electronic. I think by that time it also changed over to an Exxon. Sometime between 2016 and 2018 the "fake" E-Z Mart was rebranded as "Just 4 You", a completely different logo but still keeping the old orange-and-green theme. No doubt that the station suffered due to the construction but the apartment communities along Finfeather kept it in business, but if the gas station did poorly following its complete cut-off from Villa Maria, the shop portion facing the Villa Maria side did even worse.

Casey's Wash House was one of the oldest tenants I can find in the space, but it appears to be built at the same time as the main store. Other tenants that have come and go included The Fishman (fish market, 1990s), Omar's Upholstery (early 2000s), and a few barber shops. (It appears that there is a hair salon in the spot as of this writing).

Wendy's on Texas Avenue

Picture by author, March 2025. The construction barrel in front contributed to WHY I could snap this picture from a (sort of) moving car.
Much like the other day, in the post "H-E-B Bryan Times Two", I referred to the "City Directory" of Carbon-izer.com and my efforts to phase it out (current version here, archived edition here). In this case, we're going back down on Texas Avenue to Wendy's, which the page puts as being open in 1977 (per tax filing) but it actually opened in 1978.

3216 South Texas Avenue was the address of the restaurant and it operated for thirty years at that location¹, as the number of Wendy's restaurants in the Bryan-College Station area grew to two (with the opening of the Southwest Parkway East location in 1984), three with the addition of their WJB store in 1998 (that's for another post), and a fourth with the opening of the Holleman store in late 2004.

In 2005, Wendy's tied for third with Whataburger and Jack in the Box, with both of them being behind McDonald's and Sonic. Since the Whataburger practically across the street at the Tejas Center lines up fairly closely with the demise of this Wendy's (pulling them ahead to third place, meaning Wendy's was now tied to Jack in the Box for fourth by definition) and likely had a hand in their demise. Game over.

By summer 2009, the restaurant has been repainted red, yellow, and white as Loanstar Title Loans ("CASH LOANS ON CAR TITLES" in the front). Today in the local burger wars, Wendy's sits at just two restaurants locally behind Whataburger, Sonic, and McDonald's (the top three, in no particular order), with Jack in the Box and Burger King tied for fourth, a lousy sixth place showing. Do they deserve it? (Maybe—considering they haven't built a new one locally in over twenty years).

From the newspaper, June 28, 1978.²
It should be pointed out that although the mid-Bryan Texas Avenue fast foods all continue to thrive today to some extent. Maybe not "thrive" but the former Church's Chicken is still a restaurant, Jack in the Box is operating after a tear-down and rebuild, and work continues on Long John Silver's. All three of those sit at a stoplight with easy access. Now, sure, Mr. Hamburger is vacant (at a stoplight) and KFC still operates (but not at a stoplight); yet I can't help but thinking that the lack of access was a problem (even pre-medians). Wendy's had an access point to Doerge Street behind it but I guess that wasn't enough. I'm not sure about KFC, and especially with those medians it seems like it may be a tough sell. Heck, jumping over to the old Mr. Hamburger spot may be in their future.

Finally, I should mention that on a personal note, I don't remember ever going to this location; in fact I don't even really remember a Wendy's being there. I remember Church's and McDonald's and the KFC (pretty sure remember it when it had a bucket on the sign) but not Wendy's. Maybe I wasn't the only one...

<sup>1. I'm not sure if had a salad bar at this location since I barely seem to remember it. You can see a great page for Wendy's (ignore the former restaurant portion, it will be gone after 3/31/2025 again) here at Carbon-izer.
2. Reading the full page requires a subscription. I only clipped the relevant part.</sup>

H-E-B Bryan Times Two

The new H-E-B opened before the old one was torn down (Google Earth 2011)
Having covered both the H-E-B Pantry at Holleman and near Townshire, it's time to cover the third and final H-E-B Pantry in town...the North Bryan location. And, because of its same lot, by extension, the H-E-B that replaced it. (It's part of a broader plan to phase out the "City Directory" page on Carbon-izer as seen here).¹

While H-E-B built a new building in 1991 at 1905 Old Hearne Road, the address was previously used as "Pots of Pride" (florist) and later New Beginnings (hair salon) until around 1990, with H-E-B Pantry opening October 16, 1991. H-E-B Pantry remained nearly twenty years in the spot², though at some point rebranded to simply "H-E-B" as the company sought to eliminate the Pantry brand. By 2009, with a brand-new H-E-B to open at Tower Point and its two sister Pantry stores replaced with larger versions, work began on a new H-E-B store to replace it, almost immediately behind it.

When H-E-B opened store #644 in mid-2011, the store was three times the one it replaced (around 80,000 square feet vs. 24,000 square feet) but it was smaller and more downmarket than the other H-E-B stores. In addition to a pharmacy, a bakery, and a deli (well, "deli" by H-E-B standards anyway—they slice meat and cheese to order), it featured H-E-B's "Flaming Bird" roasted chicken concept. The larger store replaced several smaller businesses at that corner, including Sharp Propane (1609 N. Texas Avenue), Longhorn Tavern (1900 Highway 21 E.) when it was at that location from 1988 to 2009, and 1908 Highway 21 East, a car dealership, holding Atlas Motors as one of its last tenants (previously several names, including M & M Auto Sales in the mid-2000s) and Douglass Nissan Used Car Center in the late 1990s.

The address of 1601 North Texas Avenue is used for the smaller shops next to the store (attached to the building as a strip mall portion). From the H-E-B toward Brazos Valley Community Church on Highway 21 there's Fade Masters Barber Studio (formerly the spot of 4.0 Cuts, changed hands to current name between 2022 and 2025 but opened sometime in the late 2010s, a space that used to have Papa John's Pizza (it did not have the traditional logo of the chain and ended up closing after two robberies in a single day (the employees all quit), closing in early 2014. A few years later, it reopened but never gained any traction and closed for good), Safari Dental & Orthodontics (since 2011, occupies two separate storefronts), T-Mobile (opened between 2018 and 2021) and Jackson Hewitt Tax Service (at least since 2012).

As for the old H-E-B Pantry building, it was soon demolished for additional parking and an H-E-B Fuel/car wash center.

<sup>1. Archived here. Note that a number of entries are outdated and have newer/updated posts here including Mr. Hamburger, Fat Burger, Fargo's Pit BBQ, Kettle, Planet K, and Long John Silver's...among others.
2. According to the previously referenced BTU article, the store looked almost identical to the 2031 South Texas Avenue store. It was also technically signed as "H-E-B Pantry" rather than "H-E-B Pantry Foods". For more information on H-E-B Pantry Foods, please see this link.</sup>

Bush's Chicken at Tower Point

It certainly wasn't invisible from the highway but how did you get to it? (Google Maps Street View, c. 2018, with edits for brightness)
I've never covered Tower Point before, partly because it's a sprawling development (separated by a huge detention pond) rather than a cohesive shopping plaza, and mostly, hasn't seen many dramatic changes. Some spaces adjacent to H-E-B have gotten evicted for an expansion (might be worth covering that at some point) but the subject to cover is Bush's Chicken - Tower Point (4344 Highway 6 South). I've enjoyed Bush's Chicken in Waco-Temple-Killeen over the years (still do), but for whatever reason the local locations flopped.

Bush's Chicken operated from January 2016 to October 2017 (around the same time the Texas Avenue location closed).

After sitting vacant for nearly two years, the space was filled in with Conroe-based Pie in the Sky Pie Company, which tried its hand at a second location.¹ Unfortunately, PITSPC became another victim of COVID-19, closing permanently in October 2020.

After a more extensive renovation (mostly painting the building black and removing the drive-through), Le Petit Cochon² opened in November 2022. A French restaurant with decidedly fancier food (though still with a "casual restaurant" vibe), but just before its two-year anniversary (something neither Bush's Chicken nor PITSPC could manage) in August 2024, Le Petit Cochon rebranded itself as Napa Flats Bistro, a "French-inspired American Bistro".³ This French restaurant has some decidedly fancier food than either of the two spaces before it. As of August 2024, it's been open for close to two years, which is already something Pie in the Sky Pie Co. and Bush's Chicken couldn't manage.

When it was approaching its two-year point (something that neither Pie in the Sky or Bush's Chicken could manage), Le Petit Cochon rebranded as Napa Flats Bistro, calling itself a "French-inspired American Bistro".

Nearby: Spice World Market, The Sandstone Center, and Rock Prairie Crossing<sup>4

1. This was not PITSPC's first attempt at a second location. One had existed in Houston proper in the early 2010s.
2. Lit. "The Little Pig"
3. I don't remember the exact arrangement but it definitely was connected to Napa Flats' ownership in some way from day one.
4. Much like these footnotes introduced in the Texas Hall of Fame entry, this is a new feature I'm adding to new or significantly updated posts. It is all written manually.</sup>