Galleria was celeb central this weekend

Ah, now Houstonist remembers why we didn't venture out to the Galleria area this weekend: Between the All-Star tourists and locals hoping to catch a glimpse of them, it was a madhouse. The cold weather was partly to blame for making everyone want to get indoors, but the draw of the Galleria itself — from the upscale stores to the celebrity sightings — was the main thing.

Retailers reported big sales and a few star sightings. From behind the counter at a Starbucks, Victor Jaime noticed crowds following the superstars around.

"You would see the celebrities, and then all these people walking behind them," said Jaime, an assistant manager. "They'd go into a store, and they'd lock the doors behind them, so they could do their shopping."

That figures — you try to go to Casual Corner and get locked out because Eva Longoria is browsing the sale rack. Also reporting big crowds were the Gucci store, which had velvet ropes and security guards, and Chili's restaurant:

[Chili's manager Terrence] Jones said Terrell Davis, the retired Denver Broncos star, and rapper Ludacris dined at his restaurant over the weekend. Hip hop icon Snoop Dogg ate in a back room. Jones estimated that his restaurant served more than 1,000 guests on Saturday.

"It was more than holiday-type crazy," Jones said.

Wait, wait — Terrell Davis and Ludacris ate at Chili's? And Snoop Dogg ate in a back room at Chili's? We thought Bice would be more their speed, or at least the Cheesecake Factory. You just never know.

Despite the traffic jams outside and the crush inside, Galleria officials said they didn't have any problems other than having to close some stores temporarily to comply with fire codes. The crowd inside the mall was "comparable to what we see in December," a Galleria spokeswoman said.