At Lankford’s Grocery & Market, the flat-top sizzles before customers even reach the door. Inside, the floors creak and the walls lean ever so slightly, giving the space a comfortable lived-in vibe. It is the kind of place regulars return to again and again, because it feels as if it’s preserved in time.
It is hard to imagine now, considering how much Houston has changed, but when Lankford’s Grocery & Market first opened in 1937, the city was home to just over 500,000 people, still finding its footing as an oil and gas boomtown, with active railroads and a fast-growing port. At a time when air conditioning was considered a luxury, neighborhood corner stores were not just a convenience; they were essential.
A Humble Beginning
That is what Aubrey and Nona Lankford set out to create in a modest building near downtown. The young couple opened a small fruit stand and grocery store, where people in the neighborhood could pick up fresh foods, dairy products, and everyday necessities without having to travel far from home. The couple lived upstairs and ran the grocery store out of the downstairs part of the building.
“It didn’t start as a burger place,” says Sydney van der Does, the great-granddaughter of the founders and part of the fourth generation still running the family-owned restaurant today. “It was a little mom-and-pop shop. That’s why it’s still called Lankford’s Grocery.”…