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Rice Village still has independent style - Houston Chronicle
BUSINESS
Rice Village still has independent style
By David Kaplan
March 9, 2012 | Updated: March 13, 2012 1:13pm
Fashion designer Chloe Dao gave serious thought a few years ago to moving her boutique
clothing shop out of the Rice Village.
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Major street construction on Kirby was a drag on businesses, she said, and a proposed, mostly
residential midrise development hadn't gotten off the ground, leaving a city block vacant for
several years. Meanwhile, more and more retail spaces were going dark, she recalled.
Now the Rice Village is on the upswing.
New stores are coming in, and the
residential project is finally going up after
being taken over by Hanover. Dao, who
remodeled her fashion boutique, Dao
Chloe Dao, said she is glad she stayed
put.
The shopping district sandwiched
between Rice University and the West
University neighborhood is "growing,
changing and trying to stay the same,"
said Chuck Pritchett, owner of the
Village Clothier, a classic conservative men's store, since 1987.
Comprising mostly mom-and-pop shops, the Rice Village has maintained its "independent retail
character," Pritchett said, although "it may be getting a little more sophisticated."
One iconic mom-and-pop there closed in 2010. For more than 60 years the quirky Variety Fair 5
& 10 epitomized the Rice Village, and when it closed, owner Cathy Irby said the rising costs of
running a small business were among the reasons for its demise.
Current and former tenants disagree on whether rising rents in the Village will make it harder for
family-owned retailers to make a go of it.
The Rice Village is unusual because no one is in charge. Typically with malls and shopping
districts, one developer calls the shots. The Rice Village, however, has many landlords and no
one managing it. The Village has about 360 businesses, including many independently owned
stores, some chains and no large anchor stores.
"You can feel the entrepreneurship of the city here," Dao said.
It's a place where trendy salons co-exist with decades-old businesses like the G&G Model Shop.
Dao said it's still possible for an up-and-coming retailer to get a start there.
"You can park your car and walk everywhere," said Dao, who described the Village as a
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"lifestyle" place where moms push their babies and friends meet at coffeehouses, bars,
restaurants and performance venues.
Carl Carlock ran The Bead Shop on Times Boulevard for 40 years before leaving the Village
recently, saying his rent got too high. He moved to a building he owns on Shepherd near
Westheimer but said he misses all the foot traffic in the Village from Texas Medical Center
visitors, Rice community members and surrounding residents. People were more likely to make
impulse buys at his Village store, whereas his new location is more of a destination, he said.
Carlock fears rising rents will force independents out and leave only upscale chains.
Sees it as doable
But Chris Promecene, co-owner of new Village tenant PH Design, believes small-business
owners can still make it there. He noted that rental rates there vary from landlord to landlord.
The design-based gift store and custom stationery designer recently moved from Montrose.
The Village seemed like the best spot, he said, because he wanted an Inner Loop location with
high foot traffic surrounded by other independents. Other shopping areas were too expensive or
dominated by chain stores, he said.
Business at PH Design was slow during the summer, Promecene said, but picked up during the
Christmas shopping season. He is optimistic.
The Hanover Rice Village project will contain 379 upscale apartment units and 22,000 square
feet of retail, including restaurants, and is set to open in December, said David Ott, the
company's development partner.
Thoughts on parking
Parking in the Village has always been an issue, Pritchett said, although he doesn't see it as a
huge problem. Sometimes a shopper may have to park a couple of blocks from a store, he said,
but it's a pleasant walk as opposed to a trek through a sea of cars at a big-box parking lot or mall
garage.
The Village's Arcade shopping center along University Boulevard has a paid parking garage.
Arcade customers can get their parking tickets validated.
Greg Lewis, president of Lewis Property Co., which represents five landlords in the Rice
Village, believes a centrally located public parking garage would benefit independent retailers.
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Landlords and tenants could lease parking spaces on a contract basis, he said. Such a garage
would make a profit, he maintained, although finding the right place for it could be a challenge.
The right mix
Trang Nguyen, co-owner of Myth & Symbol, set to open on Times this summer to sell designer
clothing, shoes, accessories and housewares, mostly made in the U.S., said she and her partners
considered several shopping areas and decided on the Village because of its pedestrianfriendliness and eclectic mix of shops.
Rents in the Village were similar to those in comparable shopping districts, she said.
She likes the Village's character and its recent influx of younger merchants, including men's
clothing store The Class Room which, like her store, features younger designers.
Next door to the Myth & Symbol space, an upscale pet store called Rocky & Maggie's opened
this year. In April, a French cafe called Sweet Paris is set to open on a property Lewis manages
on Rice Boulevard.
Jason Baker, principal at commercial retail brokerage firm Baker Katz, noted that Houston
added only 800,000 square feet of new retail space in 2010, the lowest amount in 30 years. As
the local economy improves, he said, existing space in prime retail areas has become more in
demand.
The Rice Village's resurgence is part of this larger trend, he said.
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