Former Barry's Pizza

In 2001, they only had their original and a short-lived Stafford location.
This used to be on Carbon-izer.com under "Other Houston Roads - Outer Loop", well, as of this writing anyway, as it got eliminated during the rewrite of the page to the new Richmond Avenue page (which will go live within 24 hours of this post going to press, so unless you're subscribed to the blog it's up).

In 1983, Carlos'n Charlies opened at 6003 Richmond Avenue, though perhaps due to issues with the parent company became Carlos'n Lefties Del Norte within a year, likely taking inspiration from the country song. After it closed in 1985, Crocodile (a seafood restaurant) opened in 1987, and was described in a restaurant review as "Bennigan's meets Banana Republic" and "everything about it [was] derivative of one restaurant theme or another" (For a brief time, Crocodile was just a few blocks away from Hippo). By 1990, the restaurant was just the "Pappas Party Room", with the defunct restaurant now being rented out as event space, and in early 1992 became the new home of Barry's Pizza, which had multiple locations in Houston at the time.

By 1997, the restaurant, also known as "Barry's Pizza & Italian Diner" was referred to as the "original" location and by 2019, Barry's Pizza was down to this one location, closing in 2020 (one of Houston's COVID-19 victims). A similar restaurant, Parma Pizza, opened in 2021, but it closed after a relatively short run, and by August 2024 the building was being torn down.

Replacing it was a gas station (Spark) with the address of 3222 Fountain View, featuring "Kare Market" and "Spark Laundry". Pictures can be seen at HoustonArchitecture.com.

The Redevelopment of Pinebrook Apartments

Ad for Pinebrook Apartments shortly after opening. From Houston Chronicle, 1973.
Welcome back to The Houston Files! For the last few years I've been adding Houston-related entries to Numbered Exits but there were so many Houston-related entries (especially as they've gotten taken off Carbon-izer) that I decided to revive this site again.

While I've discussed on my Northwest Freeway page in the past, 5201 West 34th Street currently houses a Jimmy John's and Origin Bank these days, but it wasn't always like that. It was originally a much larger lot with Northwest Freeway frontage and housed Pinebrook Apartments (stylized as "PineBrook", at least in the early days of the apartment complex) was a 232-unit apartment complex built in 1971 (and started advertising in 1972) as one of the many apartment complexes with clubhouses, swimming pools, and shag carpeting in the early 1970s, though PineBrook was always open to families (and pets).

The apartment complex suffered issues leading up to its official closure in November 1990 (transients moving into vacant apartments and starting fires), with (apparently) another fire happening after it was closed before the city tore it down in early 1992. By early 1995 it had been redeveloped into new sites, a new building housing a stand-alone Payless ShoeSource (using the old address, 5201 West 34th Street) and the Pine Hollow Shopping Center at 5215 West 34th Street, which was also near Northwest Freeway.

From what I can find, there was Jason's Deli in suite A (1995 to eviction in the early 2010s), Pro-Cuts in suite B (might've changed its name before closing/eviction), and Blockbuster in suite D (1995-2008). (If there was anything in Suite C I couldn't find it). I did get a bit of the Street View here.

In 1996, Boston Market was built at 5195 West 34th Street, and in 2005¹, another building was built next to it (5185 West 34th Street) with Lenny's Sub Shop, a vacancy, First Cash Advance, and RadioShack (which moved from across the street). 5175 West 34th Street was developed as a Wells Fargo in 2008.

Of course, all of these have changed over the years. Pine Hollow was demolished with the widening of the freeway, with Jason's Deli (which was closest to West 34th) going last². Payless ShoeSource closed in 2006 and was replaced with Purpose Money (later Check into Cash, by 2011) but only in half of the building. By late 2014, Jimmy John's opened in the other half but the west half was empty, and finally filled in 2016 with Verizon, though that only operated for around four years. By summer 2024 it was replaced with Origin Bank.

Boston Market closed around 2000 and was replaced by Sonic Drive-In (featuring an eat-in area) in 2001 which closed around 2026 (though the sign had been smashed out for a few years at that point).

The strip center next door had tenants come and go, with Lenny's Sub Shop getting replaced by a Little Caesars and the RadioShack becoming a Sprint RadioShack, then converting to a regular Sprint store before closing entirely. Tenants as of January 2026, from east to west (left to right) include Little Caesars (100), Fred Loya Insurance, Total by Verizon (200), Studio 34 Barbershop, and Wingstop.

Wells Fargo closed between 2024 and January 2026.

Additionally, here's an adver-article from 12/31/1972 from the Houston Chronicle that talks more about the apartments.

1. It appears the tenants moved in proper around 2006.
2. Presumably waiting until their new location on Northwest Freeway could be completed.

Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza at Park 10

This now-defunct hotel got back its Crowne Plaza name, if briefly. (Street View, 2011)
Located at 14703 Park Row, the 19-floor 349-room Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza at Park 10 was one of the first Crowne Plaza hotels in the chain (then known as "Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza", I believe it was the fourth after the third, at 2222 W. Loop South, with the first being in Maryland) opening in February 1984. A 1986 article mentions the restaurants here were "Park Cafe" and "Le Regale". In late 1987, however, it was converted to a large (regular) Holiday Inn, "Holiday Inn Houston West". It still was a nice hotel and advertised the "Holidome" as a feature. In 1995 it was rebranded again to "Holiday Inn Select" (a now-defunct brand angled toward business travelers) and by 2008 was rebranded back to Crowne Plaza, as InterContinental Hotel Group had decided to eliminate Holiday Inn Select as a brand.

In 2012 it switched hotel groups entirely, switching to a Wyndham and closed in 2020 permanently, mirroring so many other large hotels that closed over thirty years prior.

Around 2023 it reopened as Teak, a luxury apartment building.

My 2002 directory for Holiday Inn mentions that the hotel had "Tavern at the Park" (bar), Park Cafe (buffets for weekday lunch and breakfast, Friday seafood buffet, and champagne brunch for Sunday).

H-E-B Pantry Foods #309

Not an H-E-B Pantry anymore, unfortunately.
In July 1992, the ribbon-cutting for H-E-B Pantry Foods #309 at 5815 Antoine Drive was held and continued on until around 2003 when the store closed (it's possible, but unlikely, that it became branded as a regular H-E-B by this time).

A few years later, it was expanded and reopened as "Harris County Annex 38", a government building with a variety of services and offices inside. (HHR mentions it was "expanded prior to closing", but this is incorrect, it expanded AFTER closing). The above picture is from Google Maps Street View, a crummy-quality picture of the store when operating as an H-E-B can be seen here.

Originally seen on the Other Houston Roads - Outer Loop and H-E-B Stores of Houston, both on Carbon-izer.