October 27 Section A

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Contributed photo A line waits for Santa at the Main Street Sears. Readers saw him at the N. Shepherd location too. Some remember Santa coming by helicopter. Jason Knebel (713)232-9712

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Contributed photo The iconic Sears sign has beckoned shoppers on North Shepherd since 1949.

The iconic store was a part of their lives By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com

While there is no official word about the long term viability of Sears, for now, the store on North Shepherd will remain open. Still, the news of more store closings and of the company’s bankruptcy has stirred many memories of the location in Garden Oaks. For numerous people The Leader heard from, it was the candy coun-

For more than four decades, The Leader has published an annual Guide edition, designed to give the community a glimpse of the many resources our government, businesses and our people offer.

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THE INDEX. Church....................................................... 5A Classifieds.............................................. 4B Coupons. ................................................. 6A Food/Drink/Art................................... 7A Obituaries.............................................. 5A Opinion. ................................................... 4A Public Information......................... 8A Puzzles...................................................... 4A

Contributed photo The candy counter at Sears burns bright in many reader’s memories.

ter that loomed large in their memories. “My mother enjoyed shopping,” said Stephen Johnson. “As a youngster fearing boredom, I resisted the annual school clothes trip to the [Garden Oaks] Sears. “My canny mother ensured compliance by reminding me of the Sears candy counter -- the finest I’d ever seen. I still think of that candy counter, though it has been gone many years. My sympathy to those who

never had that experience.” “As a child I would often accompany my dad on trips to purchase tools or lawn and garden items and I quickly learned that if I got ‘lost’ they would take me to the snack stand in the middle of the store and give me candy and popcorn while paging the store for parents that were missing a child,” said Russell Gonzalez. “They quickly

Reader’s React Readers share their memories of the Sears of yesteryear. Page 8A

See Sears P. 6A

Sears N. Shepherd Sears site attractive remains open for now for future development From Staff Reports Though it appears a neighborhood location will (for now) remain unaffected by the move, the news of a retail giant’s downfall has come as a nonetheless striking development. According to media reports last week, Sears filed for bankruptcy Oct. 15. The company has long been struggling, not having turned a profit since 2011 according to a recent report from CNBC. The last dominoe to fall was a $134 million debt payment due Oct. 15 that the company was unable to afford. As of last week’s filing, CNN said about 700 stores remained open and the company employed 68,000 workers. That’s down from 1,000 stores with 89,000 employees that it had as recently as February. It will close at least 142 stores near the end of this year – which comes in addition to the 46 store closings already planned for next month.

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

A sign in the Garden Oaks Sears touts the store’s 125 year history.

“While we have made progress, the plan has yet to deliver the results we have desired,” now-former CEO Eddie Lampert said of ongoing plans to shed costs and debt following the filing. The neighborhood location at 4000 N. Shepherd is not currently among the 142 planned closures listed for next month; however, Sears has not ruled out additional store closings as the bankruptcy process proceeds. The company remains in the process of searching See Bankruptcy P. 8A

Since news of Sears’ bankruptcy last week, questions have been flying around many of the retail chain’s locations, including the neighborhood staple on North Shepherd. What’s to become of it? For now, it appears that the long-time beacon that is visible to any passerby on the busy thoroughfare will remain unaffected by the latest wave of closures, plugging along amidst the latest company crisis. Though a Sears spokesperson did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the subject, the location was not on the list of planned closures before the end of 2018. However, though it remains open for business for the time being, Bryan Danna with RE:VIVE Development believes it to be merely a question of when the site becomes available for re-development (not if). Prior to the Heights H-E-B on Shepherd – along with Whole Foods 365 –

setting up shop nearby, Danna said he would have surmised the site would be best utilized in the future as a groceryanchored retail development. “We may have missed that boat now that the altars are set up in lesser than/ equal to locations,” he said Tuesday. However, he now believes that any future development – whenever it may come – would mirror many of the area’s recent projects. Its location along one of the neighborhood’s busiest thoroughfares and several others aspects make it a prime spot to set up shop. “It will most likely be developed as a mixed-use project. Apartment developers will be falling all over themselves to acquire it and hopefully they will include a retail and or food and beverage component into their development plan,” he said. “Our retail and food and beverage tenants in the North Shepherd corridor have performed very well in the last decade and growing…we believe the more the merrier.”

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