401 Franklin Street. has been a 500,000-square-foot depot, a post office and an award-winning food court in its 90 years.

Last Wednesday, it became a classroom for seniors in the Business Statistics CTE class.

Students learned about how small business owners run their ventures while visiting POST Houston. The trip was sponsored by CTE Business teacher Ian Zlotnik, and took place between the end of second period and the middle of fifth.

The field trip kicked off with a presentation by General Manager Meredith Powell. Powell walked the students through the history of POST, its features and upcoming events.

“[POST] has a place in history, but it also has a place in the future as to what it’s already become and what it continues to become,” Powell said. “I think it’s a very unique place that has something for everyone. I have a lot of pride in what we do here and the things that we bring to the city of Houston.”

Zlotnik worked with Powell to plan the outing. He chose POST because of its variety of businesses, providing students with many opportunities to interview vendors about their jobs.

“We talk about a lot of different pricing things in class, and one of the projects is to create your own food truck,” Zlotnik said. “Being able to see all the different pricing and marketing elements in a real-world business is what I was hoping to get from this.”

Zlotnik assigned a packet with questions that students used to interview vendors at POST, a “different experience” from learning about business in the classroom. POST includes a shopping area as well as a food court, which provided students with a variety of businesses to learn from.

“A lot of them are small business owners who started at POST, opening their first restaurant,” Powell said. “They got their bearings here at POST. The shopping area is a similar concept. It’s our micro retail space, and that’s giving these entrepreneurs the opportunity to have a retail environment. I’m just looking forward to everyone talking with our business owners learning more about them and how they operate their businesses and how they’re successful.”

Senior and business student Daja Morris interviewed the cashiers at Mexican restaurant Taco Fuego and ice cream shop Flowers & Cream. Morris went on the trip to learn more about being an entrepreneur.

“I learned that having your own business takes time and patience,” Morris said. “I love that we got to go outside the school and see what the world has to offer.”

Keep up with Bellaire students on Instagram @bellairehigh.