Rivian confirmed plans to convert a vacant former Hooters restaurant in Houston into a retail hub, its third such site in Texas and a rare addition to a state where manufacturers are barred from owning dealerships.
Work was scheduled to begin on June 1 at 2519 Southwest Freeway, near the Greenway Plaza district in Upper Kirby, where the California-based EV maker is renovating an approximately 6,237-square-foot building at an estimated cost of about $2.3 million, according to filings with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
Rivian confirmed the project to the Houston Business Journal, which reported it on Tuesday.
Permits registered on March 4, under TDLR project #TABS2026014103, list a construction start date of June 1 and a target completion of December 4.
A second registration, filed on May 11 and named Rivian EV Chargers SW Freeway, covers charging infrastructure at the same address within the Rivian Adventure Network footprint.
Fencing went up around the site in August after the property sat boarded up for more than two years, according to local blog Houston Historic Retail, which first reported the development on September 11.
The building is owned by Colina Ventosa LTD, a Texas partnership, and Rivian is the tenant. The state filing records that the private funds for the work are being provided by the tenant.
The company already operates a service center in Houston, located at 14820 North Freeway.
Hub, Not Dealership
Rivian’s Houston project will function as an experience and demo space with charging infrastructure, not a traditional car lot.
Under Chapter 2301 of the Texas Occupations Code, vehicle manufacturers cannot own or operate direct retail dealerships.
Direct-to-consumer EV companies such as Rivian and Tesla operate physical storefronts as galleries where shoppers can view vehicles, schedule test drives and buy merchandise, but purchases must be completed online or out of state.
Sales remain direct to the customer, and Rivian delivers vehicles in Texas from its own service and demo sites. What the statute prevents is a licensed dealership, not a Texas sale or a Texas delivery.
Rivian currently runs two retail Spaces in Texas — on South Congress Avenue in Austin and on Knox Street in Dallas — alongside separate service and demo centers in Houston, Katy, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth and San Antonio, according to the company’s website.
A Southwest Freeway location would bring the retail count to three in a state where the company has been investing heavily in infrastructure, including a $9.9 million parts distribution center in Fort Worth and a planned $9.5 million service facility in Round Rock.
Hooters Vacancy
Hooters closed the Kirby-area restaurant in July 2024, one of several locations shuttered during a nationwide restructuring driven by higher food costs and lower consumer spending, Texas media outlet Chron reported.
Hooters subsequently filed for bankruptcy in 2025.
A group of founders and franchisees later established Original Hooters in November 2025, regaining control of about 140 remaining US locations after more than 17 Texas restaurants had closed over two years, according to Hoodline.
A separate but related project is taking shape next door.
A Shell gas station at 2525 Southwest Freeway filed a $250,000 renovation permit to add two EV charging stations, along with switchgear and a power cabinet, according to Chron.
Houston Leads Texas EV Adoption
Houston’s position as the state’s largest EV market helps explain Rivian’s interest in an inner-loop site along the heavily traveled Southwest Freeway corridor.
Harris County leads all 254 Texas counties in total EV registrations, according to data compiled by Dallas-Fort Worth Clean Cities.
Registered electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in Texas more than tripled between July 2022 and late 2025, reaching 456,667, with about 1,500 new EVs registered across the state each week, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.
Texas owners face added costs tied to their vehicles.
Under Senate Bill 505, which took effect September 1, 2023, EV owners pay a $200 annual registration renewal fee — or $400 for new purchases covering a two-year period — to offset uncollected motor fuel tax revenues.
Broader Texas Push
Rivian’s Houston hub adds to a string of Texas investments as the company scales up for its more affordable R2 SUV, which went on sale in June.
Chief Customer Officer Greg Revelle said this week that Rivian had run more than 150,000 demo drives this year through the end of August, more than the company reported for all of 2025.
Rivian sponsored the 2026 SXSW festival in Austin, where it shared pricing and launch details for the R2 in March.
Nationally, the company’s retail network grew from 27 experiential spaces at the end of the first quarter of 2025 to 43 by mid-2026, while service centers expanded from 74 to 104 over the same period, according to quarterly shareholder disclosures.
Texas hosts several operational Rivian Adventure Network DC fast-charging locations, including sites at Dallas, San Antonio, Waco, Columbus and Centerville, and the network’s 300 kW chargers increasingly accept non-Rivian vehicles using CCS and NACS connectors.
Rivian is not the only EV maker expanding its Texas retail presence.
Lucid confirmed plans to open a combined showroom and service center in Dallas, its second location in the metro area and the first with a workshop.
All three direct-to-consumer brands, Rivian, Tesla and Lucid, are constrained by the same manufacturer-dealer statute.
