Weingarten's

Ghost Corp Apparel — resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.

Weingarten's began in downtown Houston in 1901, when Harris Weingarten and his son Joseph opened a grocery store. Joseph incorporated the business as J. Weingarten, Incorporated in 1914 and opened a second store in 1920. Houston was home base, not just another pin on the delivery map.

Under its “Better Food for Less” pitch, the company helped popularize self-service and cash-and-carry grocery shopping. The chain grew to six stores by 1926, 25 by 1951, and 70 by 1967, spreading beyond Texas into neighboring Southern markets. Big stores, broad departments, and a very early lesson that shoppers liked doing the picking themselves.

Its documented principal office stood at 600 Lockwood Drive in Houston’s East End. By 1980, the grocery operation had reached more than 100 stores in several states. The Weingarten family sold the store business to Cavenham/Grand Union, while their real-estate interests continued separately.

Grand Union subsequently sold much of the chain to Safeway, Randalls, and Gerland's Food Fair; the Weingarten's name disappeared from most storefronts in 1984. One Houston location remained under the name until March 1986, when the last familiar sign finally went dark.

Our Weingarten's collection celebrates the Houston grocery ghost that made the supermarket feel enormous, modern, and somehow still neighborhood-sized.