Yesterday I posted my observations below on the Facebook page of the El Paso History Alliance, which has more than 63,000 followers.
That is a lot of people, and two of them pointed out in their comments that the flyers that are attached to the north doors of the Popular Department Store Building have actually been there for more than a year. In fact, there is no “THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1st” unless we’re talking about 2020. My bad!
I don’t know whether Fallas Paredes actually installed a grocery store in the ground level of their building last fall, if only briefly, but it is clear that they are not planning to any time soon.
The parent company of Fallas Paredes, National Stores Inc., filed for bankruptcy three years ago and I have not found any announcement stating that the company plans to emerge from Chapter 11.
That said, I hope they sell the Popular to an investor who will restore it and put it back into productive use in a manner that maintains its architectural integrity.
A grocery store would be good!