The shuttered Hooters restaurant at 2519 Southwest Freeway near Greenway Plaza is drawing new attention, and this time it has nothing to do with wings. Permits show electric vehicle maker Rivian is eyeing the site for a retail and charging hub, with construction already underway and an estimated price tag of roughly $2.3 million.
According to permits reviewed by Chron, Rivian filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation for the project, and the California-based automaker has not publicly confirmed its plans for the property. State accessibility records filed under Project #TABS2026019877 and registered on May 11, 2026, list the facility under the name Rivian EV Chargers SW Freeway within the Rivian Adventure Network Houston footprint, with construction slated to begin in June 2026, according to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Local outlet Houston Historic Retail first reported on Rivian's potential replacement of the Hooters site.
The Rivian Houston hub is expected to finish by December 4, 2026, the article notes. Rivian retail hubs typically include vehicle demonstrations, merchandise sales, and space for customers to schedule test drives or simply learn more about the company's electric trucks and SUVs, per the same account. Rivian has already opened a retail hub in Dallas, Texas, and other locations around the country, though the company keeps its Texas retail footprint small.
A Restaurant's Long Run Ends in Vacancy
The Kirby-area Hooters had deep roots in the neighborhood. The restaurant held a grand reopening ceremony back on January 23, 2013, according to Chron. But like many locations in the chain, it eventually became a casualty of a broader corporate contraction: Hooters closed multiple restaurants nationwide in 2024 amid a restructuring effort, ultimately shutting down the Kirby location that same year.
Hooters faced higher food prices and lower consumer spending, pressures that culminated in the company filing for bankruptcy in 2025, Chron reports. A founder-and-franchisee group later established Original Hooters in November 2025, regaining control of roughly 140 remaining U.S. locations after more than 17 Texas restaurants had shuttered over two years, according to prior Hoodline reporting. Following the July 2024 closure, the Kirby property sat abandoned with boarded windows for over two years until construction fencing went up around the perimeter in August 2026, Houston Historic Retail reported.
Why Rivian Can't Just Open a Dealership
Rivian's approach to retail in Texas is shaped by state law. Under Chapter 2301 of the Texas Occupations Code, vehicle manufacturers are barred from owning or operating direct retail dealerships, which is why direct-to-consumer companies like Rivian and Tesla operate physical storefronts as experience spaces or galleries rather than traditional car lots, according to EVWORLD.COM. Purchases still have to be completed online or out of state.
That legal structure explains why Rivian currently operates only two retail Spaces in Texas — one on South Congress Avenue in Austin and one on Knox Street in Dallas — alongside separate Service and Demo Centers in Houston on North Freeway, plus locations in Katy, Dallas, and Austin, according to Rivian. A Houston Southwest Freeway location would be a rare addition to that short list.
Houston's EV Market Leads the State
The timing lines up with Houston's growing electric vehicle footprint. Registered electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in Texas more than tripled between July 2022 and late 2025, reaching 456,667, with roughly 1,500 new EVs registered across the state each week, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.
Harris County leads all 254 Texas counties in total EV registrations, with the broader Houston area representing more than 25 percent of all registered EVs statewide, per data compiled by Dallas-Fort Worth Clean Cities. That kind of demand helps explain why a visible, inner-loop location along the heavily traveled Southwest Freeway corridor would appeal to an EV retailer.
Texas currently has eight operational Rivian Adventure Network DC fast-charging locations equipped with 39 fast-charging stalls, including sites in Dallas, San Antonio, Waco, Columbus, and Centerville, according to Rivian Points. Rivian has increasingly opened its 300 kW fast chargers to non-Rivian EV brands using CCS and NACS connectors, the same source notes.
The Neighboring Shell Station Is Adding Chargers, Too
Just next door, a separate but related shift is underway. A Shell gas station located at 2525 Southwest Freeway, right beside the former Hooters site, has its own $250,000 renovation permit that will add two electric-vehicle charging stations, along with switchgear and a power cabinet, according to Chron.
It's a small-scale echo of a much larger statewide push. In May 2026, the Texas Transportation Commission authorized roughly $250 million in federal Phase II National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure funding to add more than 300 public EV charging sites and nearly 600 high-speed charging ports along travel corridors and metropolitan regions statewide, according to CleanTechnica.
Texas EV owners also face added costs tied to their vehicles. Under Texas Senate Bill 505, which took effect September 1, 2023, electric vehicle owners pay a $200 annual registration renewal fee — or $400 for new EV purchases covering a two-year period — to offset uncollected motor fuel tax revenues that would otherwise flow into the State Highway Fund, according to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.
For now, Rivian has not publicly said what its plans are for the Southwest Freeway site, and the permits filed with state regulators remain the clearest evidence of what's coming to the old Hooters address. If the timeline holds, the property could go from boarded-up wing joint to electric vehicle showroom in the span of about two and a half years.
