Nor sure how reliable his information is, but a Texags poster is claiming a Buc-ee's is coming to the area...

https://texags.com/forums/5/topics/3095176/replies/56018823

Heard that as well. Supposedly south of CS, not in the city.

https://www.facebook.com/1907704179509819/posts/2587325381547692/

Captn_Ag05 said:

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I would imagine it is several factors - ice cream sales are probably hard to sustain in the colder months, they were not visible from the street or even within the center, and people that don't want to pay for parking to name a few.

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All this, and poor advertising. I didn't even know there was an ice cream place in Century Square.

Apologies if I missed this, but co workers tell me there's a new Mexican restaurant where Jesse's #2 was. Don...something? Curious if anyone has been.

FlyRod said:

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Apologies if I missed this, but co workers tell me there's a new Mexican restaurant where Jesse's #2 was. Don...something? Curious if anyone has been.

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Don Chente Mexican & Seafood Restaurant. Haven't been.

AggieBarstool said:

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Captn_Ag05 said:

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I would imagine it is several factors - ice cream sales are probably hard to sustain in the colder months, they were not visible from the street or even within the center, and people that don't want to pay for parking to name a few.

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All this, and poor advertising. I didn't even know there was an ice cream place in Century Square.

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On top of the fact that it tasted like crap.

Blake's Steaks is shutting down the 29th of February per facebook.

Collectonian said:

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Found their post - looks like they are closing Blakes to focus on a new grocery store, Zeitman's Grocery Store, that they plan to open in downtown Bryan on N. Main, which will have an express version of Blake's inside.

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Excited for their new endeavor. Probably a good plan to shut down Blake's ... the food was always great but the detail and execution could be very variable. I bet the new place does great.

EBrazosAg said:

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Collectonian said:

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Found their post - looks like they are closing Blakes to focus on a new grocery store, Zeitman's Grocery Store, that they plan to open in downtown Bryan on N. Main, which will have an express version of Blake's inside.

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Excited for their new endeavor. Probably a good plan to shut down Blake's ... the food was always great but the detail and execution could be very variable. I bet the new place does great.

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Why would the new place make that better?

Because the new venture is not a blakes steaks but rather a small grocery store with a version of blakes steaks within the store. Hopefully their experience running blakes as a stand alone will help make the whole grocery store a success.

Since I'm not perfect, I often find starting over on a different but similar endeavor leads to better results than I would achieve trying to fix what wasn't working. But maybe that's just me.

What wasn't working with it?

agrab86 said:

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Because the new venture is not a blakes steaks but rather a small grocery store with a version of blakes steaks within the store. Hopefully their experience running blakes as a stand alone will help make the whole grocery store a success.

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Why on earth would someone choose to go to a small grocery store when our city has 4 HEB's in it?

ajolly said:

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agrab86 said:

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Because the new venture is not a blakes steaks but rather a small grocery store with a version of blakes steaks within the store. Hopefully their experience running blakes as a stand alone will help make the whole grocery store a success.

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Why on earth would someone choose to go to a small grocery store when our city has 4 HEB's in it?

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I think, if done right, it could do well. Downtown is hopping right now. I went last night to pick up a pizza, and for blocks, you couldn't find a parking spot on the street. There are more apartments and such down there, and I am sure they'd frequent something closer to them.

From their post, they intend to have a bakery, deli, serve food as well as household items. I think of The Meat board http://themeatboard.com/ in Fort Worth. They are a higher end butcher in Fort Worth and apparently serve food as well. They are new, and I don't know how their business is doing, but it seems some people are trending back to the smaller niche, craft items that you can't readily find in a supermarket. I think HEB is selling some more hand made craft items in some stores.

Readfield Market here is Bryan does really good business, selling deli items, meat cuts, specialty items. I wish we had a bakery that sold more fresh breads, pastas, etc.. I think we have had a couple and they haven't made it long term for lack of business. But I think if a bakery, pasta vendor could team up with something like Readfields or Farm Patch, and sell the truly fresh produce, breads, etc. I think they could do OK locally.

A readfields, farm patch, bakery, etc type market set up would be awesome.

ajolly said:

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agrab86 said:

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Because the new venture is not a blakes steaks but rather a small grocery store with a version of blakes steaks within the store. Hopefully their experience running blakes as a stand alone will help make the whole grocery store a success.

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Why on earth would someone choose to go to a small grocery store when our city has 4 HEB's in it?

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One group of customers will be those who live in downtown - more and more every month - who like the idea of walking to a grocery store. In fact, the new store will likely encourage more people to move to downtown and the construction of more downtown units.

Another group of customers will be those that work at downtown business and need items during the day and don't want to go too far to get them.

Another group of customers are those who live outside of downtown but in the general area and need a few to several items, or even a whole basket-full, but don't want the hassle of going to an HEB, WalMart, or Kroger. This is part of why the ALDI on Briarcrest is doing so well, the other part being low prices for their store brands.

I don't typically go downtown on a weekday evening, so am unsure what the usual activity level is there. But I did go last night. The Hispanic Forum hosted a "Meet the Candidates" event at the Queen. That definitely caused some parking issues.That said, I did notice some crowds at other spots as well, at around 8:30.

May have missed this one too, but Downtown Uncorked is closing in Bryan and re-opening in south College Station...near the Tipsey Bean.

FlyRod said:

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May have missed this one too, but Downtown Uncorked is closing in Bryan and re-opening in south College Station...near the Tipsey Bean.

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Have they posted when their last day is going to be?

FlyRod said:

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May have missed this one too, but Downtown Uncorked is closing in Bryan and re-opening in south College Station...near the Tipsey Bean.

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With Sandy Farris retiring, let's hope the good times continue in Downtown Bryan.

Another broken egg is set to open on March 2. That is the same opening day as Walk-Ons.

Is this public I have not seen anything of the Downtown closing

Have heard this from the owner and friends of hers. No date set yet that I know of.

Any idea what they're clearing land for back behind Razoo's (between Homewood Suites & Residence Inn)?

Yes -

Quote:

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The re-imagining of University Towne Center will transform College Station's dominant dining destination into a pedestrian friendly shopping and entertainment district. The project will expand to over 200,000 square feet to increase offerings and provide a gathering place for locals, students and visitors alike.

The re-imagining of University Towne Center will transform College Station's dominant dining destination into a pedestrian friendly shopping and entertainment district. The project will expand to over 200,000 square feet to increase offerings and provide a gathering place for locals, students and visitors alike.

+/- 53,900 SF of Retail
+/- 15,000 SF of Grocery
+/- 52,800 SF Restaurant
+/- 105 Units of Multi-Family

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See more: https://images1.loopnet.com/d2/pyp3sCXIG9aNFUD5AF1aKOHHs5NSMOem9EpIICXrxc8/document.pdf

Saw people holding signs on University for Motherhood Maternity going out of business sale. Everything is 70% off.

Genghis Grill is closing.