Showing posts with label banks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label banks. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Clayton's Restaurant / Captain's Table

Captain's Table, the second restaurant here, was only open on weekends in October 1974. Bad sign? (Ad from The Eagle)

Clayton's Restaurant opened around 1957 at 2900 South Texas Avenue, and from copies seem to be a family restaurant not particularly specializing in anything based on this 1960s ad copy.

Clayton's had a big menu, but I doubt that most of it was all that good.

In the early 1970s, Clayton's closed and Captain's Table opened in April 1973 in its place, which was a more upscale restaurant with steak and seafood options (among others), including a full bar on the premises. Captain's Table featured a hexagon-shaped road sign that would survive for many years.

In mid-1977 Captain's Table abruptly closed, from still scheduling events in its banquet rooms in April 1977 to a "complete liquidation" of the property by June of 1977. In November 1977, it reopened as First Federal Savings & Loan Association of Bryan, setting a precedent for banks in the building from then to the modern day. While I can't find much on the interim years of the restaurant-turned-bank, by 2005 (nearly 30 years after it had stopped serving food), the bank was now State Bank, which was acquired and rebranded as Prosperity Bank in 2006 with other branches in the area.

If I recall, when I first started driving in the area around late 2010 (going to Blinn, of course), Prosperity Bank had closed its location here in favor of a nearby location, and The First Bank & Trust began renovations on it, altering and modernizing the facade (mostly adding a new overhang) and getting rid of the distinctive hexagon-shaped sign in favor of a traditional rectangle one.

In late 2019, The Bank & Trust was acquired by First Financial Bank, causing it to be rebranded to the First Financial Bank name. As of this writing, however, Google Maps Street View still has the default view as its First Bank & Trust iteration.

Monday, August 17, 2020

Aggieland Credit Union, Southwest Parkway East

There used to be a sign outside used to feature an electronic display featuring the time and temperature, but today no longer has the electronic component.


Not too much to say about Aggieland Credit Union here at 201 Southwest Pkwy. East beyond opening in 1997. They used to (maybe they still do, but I haven't been inside for a while now for obvious reasons) have pictures of almost every Aggie Bonfire going back years, though there was never a Bonfire after 1998 due to the 1999 collapse. Pictures in this post by author, 6/20.

Editor's Note: I'm going to try to take a brief break after this to get my thoughts back in order, mostly because I don't want to keep posting filler. While I do have some new posts planned, I'm going to focus on closed-down or otherwise defunct businesses, with more love and attention given to Bryan.

Saturday, July 25, 2020

Aggieland Credit Union, 501 University Drive (Sulphur Springs Road)

One of my pictures from 2013.

From various sources, this building (501 University, formerly 501 Sulphur Springs Road) was opened in 1950 as a bank, the College Station State Bank, which moved down (what is now) University Drive in 1962 to a new location. This new location eventually was torn down for a skyscraper with the bank (by this point, BB&T) eventually moving in on the ground level. The original location of the bank survived, however, and is still a bank of sorts today.

After College Station State Bank moved out, the Presbyterian Student Center opened in the spot. By 1972, it was serving as The Answer (The Answer is Jesus Christ Inc.), a Christian counseling center. In the early 1980s, The Answer folded and Pizza Hut moved in. Apparently, PepsiCo (or the local Pizza Hut franchise) believed that the Pizza Hut just on the other side of Texas Avenue was doing well enough that a second location closer to Northgate would be a good business decision, and, from the early 1980s to early 1990s, a Pizza Hut occupied the space.

One of the few 501 University-as-Pizza Hut photos that exist (Project HOLD)


In 1994, the building reopened as Aggieland Credit Union, and has been so ever since.

Editor's Note: I'm currently experimenting with a new title format, let me know what you think!

Monday, September 19, 2016

Goodbye to 711 University, So Long to the BB&T...

Since I didn't get a picture of the bank before it became a big hole in the ground, we'll have to do with this.


I love punny titles, and what better way to do that would be to mention the demolition of the old University Bank Building?

This was (going past tense here) a rather large and rather old bank that was a Citibank until very recently when it changed to BB&T. Before the page was removed, Brazos CAD says it was built in 1961 and from what I confirm that is absolutely true. Besides the many transactions at the bank itself, here are the major transactions in terms of name changes and all.

1962: College Station State Bank relocates to this building from a previous location.
1963: The name is changed to University National Bank.
1990: After a long run as University National Bank, it is acquired by Don Adam to become First American Bank (officially acquired that year)
2005: Citigroup acquires the bank chain, rebranded to Citibank
2014: BB&T purchases 41 Citibank branches including this one and rebrands them.
2016: BB&T relocates to The Rise at Northgate; building torn down, thus beginning and ending its life with relocation.

That being said, there are two more things I want to hit:

OFFICE SPACE!
The bank property also included an adjacent space, which was 707 University, BCAD link here which was a two-story office building with a small footprint. My records show this was used for non-bank space as early as 1974 (with the Provident Mutual Life Insurance Co.) and my 1989 phone book mentions "The Personal Computer Store" (with the ad mentioning it was "since 1984"). This became MicroAge by 1993, and starting in 1999 moved out to their current home (now known as Avinext) on East University Drive. I don't think anything has occupied the space since.

FOOD TRUCKS!
711 University was also where food trucks congregated (or near the now-defunct Notes-N-Quotes next door). Since I graduated a few years ago, I can't list all the more recent food trucks and trailers there, though here are a few I remember:

Wafology - Seen spring 2014, this was a waffle food truck which had chicken and waffles and a few others. The waffles weren't great, they were more of the standard "using pancake batter in a waffle iron" that I've seen everywhere except for home cooking. I think it returned for fall 2014. It is now known as MESS Waffles, but it doesn't even involve a food truck anymore, they opened a permanent location at Century Square.

Vittles - This was seen summer 2014. It was a trailer operated by Gumby's serving sno-cones, pizza rolls, and chicken legs (the latter two obviously prepared off-site).

Chef Tai's Mobile Bistro - Moved inside campus due to a contract.

Southern Comfort Road Trip - The old Village Foods food truck which in fall 2013, was the new home of Hebert's Cajun Food dishes. Their already-borderline prices had gone up, but it still felt like it was putting the universe one step closer to being back in balance.

Mr. Chinese Burger - I wanted to like it, but the burgers I had needed reheating...and they were shut down by the health department at least once. Still, I was amused by the (possibly deliberate?) broken English menu ("One Chinese Burger", "Two Chinese Burger", etc.), they sold pulled pork on chewy steamed buns.

THE PRESENT!
Today, of course, it's yet another student housing residential tower, known as Aspire College Station with 16 stories (including parking levels) and 800 beds. BB&T actually moved back in. By 2019, it got Fajita Pete's, Which Wich, and All Phone Toys. APT occupies a forgotten space on facing Church Avenue.

UPDATE 02-25-19: Removed BCAD link, added links for MESS Waffles and Gumby's, and replaced the last paragraph with the new building.
UPDATE 08-15-19: Added additional tenants
UPDATE 06-21-23: Fajita Pete's closed in 2021. The link to Fajita Pete's website no longer works, and has been removed. Also, BB&T has been rebranded as Truist.
UPDATE 12-30-23: Which Wich closed late this year.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

The Rise at Northgate

Not there yet...this view may be impossible in a few years when the apartments replacing BB&T get built.

I can still remember sitting on the "porch" of the A+ Tutoring and Fat Burger building (profiled here in this post, which is undergoing changes, but that's okay), looking out at the abandoned building that once held a BBVA Compass Bank (formerly Guaranty Bank until they were bought out) and United Realty. United Realty is now on Graham, and BBVA Compass moved out as well. I don't know when or where they took off too, but I'm pretty sure that BBVA Compass disappeared in 2010 or so.

They were to be torn down for a huge building known as 717 University. This was spring 2012. At first, I couldn't really comprehend a building being there. After all, the Plaza was coming down, and the Plaza occupied a much bigger footprint. I wondered if they would close off Church Avenue for additional space. Turns out they didn't. When they filed something in regards to the airport ordinance, I knew it could be good.

Initially, there was talk of a gourmet grocer (Whole Foods was the rumored choice, and supposedly they even signed a letter of intent), but that eventually fell through as the building was renamed The Rise at Northgate and ultimately CVS/pharmacy would take the place of the lower level tenant, which was just as well.


Early concept. It looks substantially different in real life. (snagged from local news site)

Over the fall semester, I watched from the Evans Library them build the large structure, adding a new floor every week or so before it was visible on the skyline.

Anyway, the bank was home Community Savings & Loan Association which surprisingly lasted from the 1970s until 1989. Later, it became Guaranty Bank and United Realty (sharing the bank), the former becoming BBVA Compass and moving out. By 2011, it was boarded up and vacant.

I know I had once parked my bike in the lot in the overgrown grass there, but didn't get any good ground pictures at the time.

Not too long before, this is what was there.

I don't live in the Rise, but a friend and I checked out the CVS and explored around. It's smaller than a real CVS...there's a selection of food that's generally better than a convenience store, and of course a full HBA (Health & Beauty Aids) department, something convenience stores don't have. The best thing, at least to Rise residents, is a little hallway in the back that links the elevator to the complex (and the parking garage) with the CVS, so in theory, you could make a midnight run for snacks...or at least, it would be midnight, if they didn't close at 12 (that might change in the future).

It's a bit of a bummer that they don't carry any fresh fruits or vegetables, as that would round out the neighborhood nicely. After all, just literally outside used to be the old Albertsons which did have not only a pharmacy since the early 1970s but all manners of produce as well. 24 hours, too. A sad day when it finally closed, as for the next 31 semesters, Northgate lacked a pharmacy (that's spring 1998 to spring 2013, for those keeping count).

A few more pictures that I took...


Due to the orientation of perhaps the parking garage ramps above, the CVS isn't flush with ground level, requiring going up a several steps or using a (rather narrow looking) ramp. Still, the potential is great: a huge (at least by College Station standards) apartment building, and streetside retail in a pedestrian area (something the Lofts lacked).

Around spring 2014, they replaced their bike racks with bike racks designed for the MaroonBikes rental bikes, requiring people to hook their bikes to trees or other things (way to screw over your main audience) but you could still hook it on a bench or a tree. As of 2016, they've posted signs not to park bikes in the vicinity but rather put them in bike racks in the upper levels of the parking garage, which made the CVS and its other tenants definitely less accessible.

The first tenant here was CVS/pharmacy (Ste. 101), the largest store, which opened September 29, 2013. It faces University and while it is a smaller CVS than most of its more suburban counterparts, it is merchandised to the neighborhood by having a mix of at least 50% food, though only has a very abbreviated mix consisting of a few dry foods, frozen foods, and a few other items, all priced higher than grocery stores. The best thing, at least to Rise residents, is a little hallway in the back that links the elevator to the complex (and the parking garage) with the CVS, so in theory, you could make a midnight run for snacks...or at least, it would be midnight, if they didn't close at midnight.

The second tenant is "YAKU Japanese Eatery" (Ste. 171), which replaced Great Wraps. Great Wraps opened in spring 2014 but didn't match up with its Houston counterparts. My quest for a good chicken caesar wrap on or near campus was foiled when the wrap was stuffed with croutons, and that was enough to put me off forever. By the end of 2014 it was gone, with YAKU taking its place next year. By the time YAKU opened, I was out of college, and while I was dubious of the sign offering chicken fingers and ramen (having put off by Happy Yogurt and their store-bought garbage), it has lasted until sometime around late 2017 when it was quickly replaced with Shun De Mom, another Asian restaurant.

The third tenant, located at the end, is the BB&T (Ste. 181), which opened August 2016. It has an ATM outside of it. The BB&T moved here after their old location was demolished. By late 2018, however, they moved back to their original address, this time occupying a ground level location.

July 27 2014 - Updated.
October 09 2016 - Updated a second time.
May 16 2019 - Updated a third time to account for new tenants and gone ones.