Belden's will shutter
Grocery store at heart of Houston's Jewish community set to close
A staple of Houston’s Jewish community will soon be closing its doors. Belden’s Food Market will close sometime in January.
As of now, the store has not set an official closing date, store director Darryl Ames tells CultureMap. He expects the store will maintain normal operations for approximately the next two weeks before it starts to deplete its inventory. At the time, the store will announce its last day of operations and initiate discounts on remaining items.
Asked about the reasons for the impending closure, Ames cites declining revenues since Hurricane Harvey decimated the neighborhood. Already damaged by previous floods, many Meyerland residents moved to other parts of Houston.
“The neighborhood is not what it was before the floods and Hurricane Harvey,” he says.
Known for its extensive selection of kosher food, including fresh kosher meat, the store has been a staple of Houston’s Jewish community, and news of the closing circulated quickly among Jewish groups on social media over the weekend. Ames says he’s learned a lot from the community over the years.
“I ran the kosher department for years before I was the store director,” Ames says. “It’s been a pleasure to work with the Jewish community. I’ve made a lot of friends here. I’m definitely going to miss the store.”
While Belden’s closing will undoubtedly be sad for patrons who’ve shopped at its location for more than 20 years, better times are ahead for area shoppers. A new H-E-B is under construction in the Meyerland Plaza shopping center that will include an extensive selection of kosher items, including a kosher butcher.
