U-Read-It About U-Tote-M
More than you ever wanted to know about Houston's lost convenience store chain
Below: a 1983 film with an all-star cast immortalized the U-Tote-M you see here:
A message board posting about lost brands and businesses got me thinking about U-Tote-M, the slightly quirky convenience store chain that once bestrode the Houston easy-in, easy-out grocery market like a colossus.
The chain was purchased by Circle K in late 1983, but before that it managed to occupy an outsize place in memories of my youth. There was one about three blocks west of my grandparents' house on Institute Lane, and it was there that I bought my first beer, while underage by a good five years, from a Vietnamese immigrant clerk who I came to know and trust as a partner in crime.
This store stood on the south side of Bissonnet, at the very foot of Dunlavy Street. My sister-aunts* remember it as a frightening place -- a haven for drunks, druggies, and leering catcallers, but for me, it was always an oasis of sinful delight, spanning the era of childhood candy and cokes to adolescent alcohol. It lingered as. a Circle K for maaayyybeee a decade after the sale and was then torn down and replaced by the swanky condos you see there now across the street from the Hillel house.
And so I felt inspired to deep-dive the U-Tote-M, going all the way back to the etymology of the word "tote," which turned out to be way more fascinating than I ever imagined.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Ruckus to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.