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    Guns In The Grocery Store?

    Guns in the grocery store? Where you can — and can't — openly carry a pistol in Houston

    Clifford Pugh
    Jan 4, 2016 | 5:45 am
    Man with pistol in shoulder holster
    The new open carry law went into effect on January 1, but businesses can forbid it with a few choice words.
    Photo by Woodson Leather

    In early January, I usually have trouble remembering exactly what year it is as I remain mired a bit in the past. But this year, there's no forgetting that it's 2016.

     

    That point was brought home to me Sunday when my partner, who frequents our neighborhood Kroger, was shocked to see a shopper with a pistol at his hip in the checkout line and quickly texted me a photo.

     

    Under the state's new "open carry" law, which went into effect January 1, properly licensed Texans are permitted to display their handguns in public in holsters on their hips or shoulders. But seeing a pistol-toting shopper in the middle of the produce department or elsewhere in the store is a scary sight for some people, who made their concerns known when the photo was posted on Facebook.

     

    Those who don't want to be around guns in public places — and I admit I'm one of those people — can avoid those businesses but they have to do a little research.

     

    Private property owners can ban guns with a sign worded like this:

     
     

    Pursuant to Section 30.07, Penal Code (trespass by license holder with an openly carried handgun), a person licensed under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code (handgun licensing law), may not enter this property with a handgun that is carried openly.

     
     

    Most grocery chains in Houston, including H-E-B, Randall's, Fiesta, Costco, Trader Joes, Sprouts, Phoenicia and Whole Foods, ban openly carried firearms in their stores with such a sign, according to the website Gun Free Businesses.

     

    However, Kroger allows guns to be openly carried in its stores, and the chain's CFO has rejected demands to change its policy nationwide. Walmart also appears to allow permitted gun owners to carry guns in stores, although the Wall Street Journal reported that a store's associates and customers can complain to management if the presence of firearms makes them "feel uncomfortable in any situation where a customer brings a gun into the store, and store managers can ask customers to leave guns in the car."

     

     (Update 01/07: CultureMap initially reported that Target would post signs banning open carry in its Texas stores, but a spokeswoman for the chain says while it "respectfully requests guests not bring fire arms into the store," it will not post signs as required by Texas law.)

     

    Carrying a gun openly is banned in most Houston malls (Galleria, Memorial City, Willowbrook, The Woodlands, Deerbrook, First Colony) and movie complexes (AMC, Cinemark, Alamo Drafthouse, Regal, Santikos). Other establishments that ban openly carried guns, according to Gun Free Businesses, include Walgreens, Barnes & Noble, IKEA, and all 24 Hour Fitness and YMCA locations.

     

    The Jack in the Box fast food chain bans open carry but Starbucks apparently does not, says one CultureMap reader who left a Houston location on Sunday when he didn't seen a sign and was told by an employee it's OK for a permitted gun owner to openly carry a firearm in the coffee shop. (According to a previously announced policy, Starbucks doesn't ban guns but prefers that customers not bring firearms into their stores.)

     

    Both Gun Free Businesses and a document compiled by @kylejack on Twitter list a large number of Houston restaurants and bars that ban open carry, including Backstreet Cafe, Ninfa's on Navigation, Niko Niko and all Treadsack restaurants and bars (Down House, Johnny’s, Foreign Correspondents, Hunky Dory, Bernadine’s and D&T Drive Inn). "Alcohol and guns don’t mix well," a Treadsack spokesperson told Gun Free Businesses.

     

    Many restaurants are scrambling to determine policy, and both sources are constantly updating their lists, so the best thing to do if you are unsure is to ask the restaurant or store owner.

     

    One restaurant that always welcomes gun owners is Brooks' Place BBQ in Cypress, where pistol-toting patrons get a 25 percent discount.

     

    Under the new law, it is prohibited to openly carry a weapon at schools, hospitals, nursing homes, sporting events or airport security checkpoints.

     
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    news/city-life

    This Week's Hot Headlines

    Shaq surprises Houston restaurant with $1,000 tip and more top stories

    CultureMap Staff
    Jul 12, 2025 | 11:00 am
    Shaquille O'Neal Ninfa's Uptown
    Courtesy of Ninfa's
    Shaquille O'Neal had lunch at Ninfa's Uptown.

    Editor's note: It's time to look back at the top Houston news of the week, starting with a surprise visit — and big tip — from Shaq. Plus, Houston ranks among America's most overpriced cities, and rents rise in Sugar Land. Get the details on our most popular stories below, then find the best things to do this weekend here.

    1. Shaquille O'Neal leaves $1,000 tip at Houston Tex-Mex institution. NBA Hall of Famer and media personality Shaquille O’Neal surprised the crowd at The Original Ninfa’s Uptown when he stopped by for lunch, posing for pics and leaving a very big tip.

    2. Veteran Houston bartender shakes up the Heights with new tropical bar. The woman behind your favorite bartender’s favorite bar has quietly opened a new cocktail spot in the Heights. Called Berwick’s Birds of Paradise, it’s the latest project from Double Trouble owner Robin Berwick.

     Berwick's Birds of Paradise bar Robin Berwick Owner Robin Berwick took inspiration from hotel bars for BBOP.  Photo by Vivian Leba  

    3. Houston is one of America's most overpriced cities, study finds. In what may come as a surprise to some local residents, a new study ranks Houston among the 10 most overpriced cities in America.

    4. This Houston suburb had the highest apartment rent prices in June. Apartment rent prices in June were more expensive in Sugar Land than anywhere else in Houston, according to the latest monthly rent report from Zumper.

    5. Houston influencer opens an antiques-filled boutique hotel in Montrose. 109 Stratford Street in Historic East Avondale has recently opened as a nine-room boutique hotel, The Marlene Inn, from owner and Instagram influencer Lily Barfield.

    most popular storiesshaquille o'nealcelebritiesopeningsrentreportsexpensiveinfluencershotelstop stories
    news/city-life

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