I've been hearing a lot about H.E.B. and since it started after I left Texas just wondering what kind of grocery store is it and how does it compare to Randalls, Kroger and etc.. Is it like a Trader Joe's sort of place where it primarily sells specialty brands, a discount grocery store like Aldis, or a slightly more upscale grocery store like Randalls?
Its pretty much like a Kroger, not really a lot of differences... plus it varies from store to store based on location obviously. HEB Central Market is pretty upscale. HEB on Fountainview and Westheimer is my supermarket of choice. I like to get me some free pineapple and sushi.
its a grocery store.................. but much more awesome, rollercoasters, magicians in the dairy, lion tamers in the produce . HEB's are effing awesome!
depends on the store itself they have the equivalents to flagship epicurian neighborhood market but they also have different versions their fresh fruit and vegetable selections are great so is their seafood selections
H. E. Butt, the founder. its a san antonio/central texas chain. definitely cheaper than randalls, and the Central Markets and some of the HEB upscale ones are nicer than your average grocery store
I think it stands for H.E. Butt. He may (or may not) have been the founder of the company. He also made a cameo in My Life, starring Christian Bale and Katie Holmes.
oh I think I'll take my shopping elsewhere personally I dont know about shopping at a store named after a butt and we dont have them here we just have Trader Joe's and its milfs
this is true of HEB more than any other grocery chain, in my opinion. there are some that are very nice with a great selection...there are some that are absolutely awful and smell.
On a serious note, HEB is really the best grocery chain in this area. They consistently have better prices than the others, and they consistently have a better overall selection/variety than anyone else. Plus I live on the West side, and the HEB on Kirkwood/Westheimer makes the nearby WalMart look like a ghetto in comparison. Always looks and feels nice.
i love HEB off cypresswood and 249! i like their sushi and they make wheat tortillas which is awesome. it's really different from the one off woodridge and 45. I guess it's all about the location.
The HEB that I shopped at 10+ years ago and the HEB Pantry that I have shopped at 4 years ago, both were grocery stores. Both had great prices but a some what limited selection of grocery items as compared to Krogers and Randalls.
They opened a new one at I-10 and Bunker Hill that is nice. Less nice than Central Market, but another step up from the Fountainview location. I don't know if I like the floorplan though. On the flipside, the HEB Pantry on OST is pretty shoddy. I heard, though, that it is the most profitable in the city.
Its all about location. If you live in a crap part of town, you have a crappy HEB that's barely a step above Foodarama or Foodtown (except when it comes to produce, they do that good at almost all of them except for the one in Bellaire and by UofH). If you live in like Royal Oaks that is kind of a nexus of nice private gated community nearby crappy Alief, you have a nice big store where they have cooking demonstrations, but nothing too special over all. Inside the loop on Westheimer where it looks like Rodeo Drive, you get a full on Central Market: The newest one and one I really like is on I-10 and Bunker Hill. It's huge, has a Central Market section in it, and they give out samples every time I've been there. I've never been to Trader Joes, but my understanding is that its like Whole Foods but with much better prices. Central Market is like the best Randalls Flagship or Kroger, but much better (except for the bakery, Randalls has the best instore bakers).
