Dallas Fort Worth Urban Forum

Tivo_Kenevil wrote:I don't really care we have Central Market already. Lol

Addison wrote:

Tivo_Kenevil wrote:I don't really care we have Central Market already. Lol

It's not the same though.

Texas supermarket giant H-E-B, which has dominated the southern half of Texas for decades, is moving into North Texas with two locations next fall.

The brand is launching its stores in Frisco and Plano, both slated to open in fall 2022, a Friday release said, strengthening its Dallas-Fort Worth presence which up until now has only included its subsidiary companies like Central Market.

“This is an exciting day as we share plans to expand our presence in the DFW market with the introduction of H-E-B, our flagship banner, to our growing network of stores,” said Stephen Butt, president of the Central Market division of H-E-B, in a prepared statement. “For the past 20 years, Central Market has been committed to earning customers’ trust, and H-E-B Partners will work hard to earn the confidence of the many new shoppers we look forward to serving in the Plano and Frisco communities.”

The Dallas Morning News first reported the expansion Friday.

With roots in the Hill Country of Texas, H-E-B has spread over the past 116 years through Houston, Austin, San Antonio and down into Mexico, and getting as close to Dallas as towns on the outskirts such as Weatherford, Burleson, Cleburne and Waxahachie. These new locations will mark the store’s first and second sites in close proximity to the city, with groundbreaking scheduled for this summer.

H-E-B plans to break its stores into more of the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the future, the release said, though didn’t announce any more specific plans.

The Frisco location will be at the northeast corner of Legacy Dr. and Main St. and the Plano site will be at the southwest corner of Preston Rd. and Spring Creek Parkway. The supermarket also has plans to partner with nonprofits organizations and public schools in the area, the release said, to host events and awards, which it does in its other markets as well.

It has grown to five Central Market locations in the area since it hit Dallas in 2001, with its six at the Preston Royal neighborhood reopening this summer after sustaining damager during the tornado that blew through the city in October 2019.

In December, H-E-B president of food and drug stores Scott McClelland said at a webinar discussion that Dallas-Fort Worth was on the horizon for the company. He said then the supermarket had identified some potential sites. He said Dallas is an attractive market in Texas and was on H-E-B’s radar.

"We do have sites in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that are identified, and at some point in time, provided H-E-B continues to have good success, I think you would see an H-E-B move to Dallas-Fort Worth," McClelland said in the event hosted by The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business.

The company is one of the largest privately held companies in Texas, with $32 billion in annual sales and more than 420 stores across the state and Mexico, employing more than 137,000.

H-E-B declined to comment further, saying more details would be available when it breaks ground this summer.

tamtagon wrote:Southern Dallas and Tarrant counties are ripe for a full scale blanketing by HEB. Redlining and blue laws restricted growth sine the suburbs started, but one hopeful side effect is coming decades of better planned and longer lasting infrastructure improvements and dramatic population growth.

Infiltrated the affluent areas is SOP, gain foothold and still eek a profit. That'll be the foundation allowibg the brand to make a home where the poorer people currently live, and profits are a couple years after opening day.

When H-E-B announced in March that it was finally building two of its name brand grocery stores in Dallas-Fort Worth, people were excited. You know what? That’s an understatement. People freaked out. The San Antonio-based grocery chain’s reasonable prices, local and Texas-branded products, and socially responsible corporate behavior inspire a potent home state pride. H-E-B is as Texas as bluebonnets, or the Alamo. As Texas as Whataburger or Dr Pepper, at least.

And yet, for years, North Texas had no H-E-B to call its own. So the reaction was understandable. Maybe you pinched yourself.

If you’re still wondering, here’s some news that will clear up the question of whether it was all a dream. H-E-B is officially breaking ground on its two area stores, one in Frisco and the other in Plano, this week. The dirt’s about to start flying, according to the company. This is really happening. (It is not yet happening in Oak Cliff, however, where H-E-B purchased land four years ago ostensibly for a Central Market that has not materialized.)

Until next fall, you’ll have to get your fix at the H-E-B in Waxahachie, or settle for Central Market. In the meantime, you can watch as construction gets underway.

The Frisco store will be at the northeast corner of Legacy Drive and Main Street, the Plano store at the southwest corner of Preston Road and Spring Creek Parkway.

The_Overdog wrote:I wish their site plans were better. The Plano one on Preston/Spring Creek just looks like a grocery store set way too deep in the lot (the truck bays are going to be about 20 feet from the apartments behind the store), with weak connectivity to the existing, nice development to the south (including Kenny's Burgers and a Steinway Piano store) with a way too large parking lot. The Kohls redevelpment, adjacent across Preston, has a much better site plan.

maconahey wrote:Drove by the Plano site the other day

Addison wrote:On a somewhat related note, the Albertson's that was on Frankford & DNT is being "renovated" and converted to a Tom Thumb.

In effect, I believe that leaves the stores in Carrollton and Richardson as the only Albertson's locations on the Dallas side of the Metroplex, and Dallas proper without an Albertson's for the first time in probably 30 years.

However, this now means Far North Dallas and Addison is a citadel of crappy Tom Thumb & Kroger stores, at least until H-E-B comes.

Addison wrote:Also, I've been thinking...

I know H-E-B owns property in Buckner Terrance and DeSoto, while the other land they own in Dallas is destined for Central Market. But I'm not sure where there would be enough buildable land in Dallas proper (at least on the north side) for the huge store sizes H-E-B tend to have.

A couple possibilities are:

*Preston Road south Belt Line Road in Far North Dallas (next to TJ Maxx).

*Coit Road south of Frankford Road in Far North Dallas (next to PetSmart). This one however have the issue of being right down the street from a Central Market as well as right next door to a Super Target (not sure H-E-B wants to cannibalize their own store and compete directly with Target...).

itsjrd1964 wrote:Too close to Central Market, the Target might be an issue, and the neighborhood around the corner on McCallum might not be to their liking demographically.

Matt777 wrote:

itsjrd1964 wrote:Too close to Central Market, the Target might be an issue, and the neighborhood around the corner on McCallum might not be to their liking demographically.

I keep hearing this about HEB, that they are targeting only affluent areas. And it may seem that way since their first stores are going to be in the far northern suburbs. But HEB's bread and butter base is South Texas, which is for the most part not an affluent area (minus some pockets in San Antonio). The Rio Grande Valley is absolutely filled with them. They are also big in Northern Mexico. I don't have any demographic data on their customer base, but I would bet that it leans heavily Hispanic. That is why their "richies only" strategy in DFW is puzzling.

Addison wrote:

Matt777 wrote:

itsjrd1964 wrote:Too close to Central Market, the Target might be an issue, and the neighborhood around the corner on McCallum might not be to their liking demographically.

I keep hearing this about HEB, that they are targeting only affluent areas. And it may seem that way since their first stores are going to be in the far northern suburbs. But HEB's bread and butter base is South Texas, which is for the most part not an affluent area (minus some pockets in San Antonio). The Rio Grande Valley is absolutely filled with them. They are also big in Northern Mexico. I don't have any demographic data on their customer base, but I would bet that it leans heavily Hispanic. That is why their "richies only" strategy in DFW is puzzling.

Besides all of that, they confirmed a Central Market is planned for Oak Cliff, and that's not exactly Beverly Hills.

Addison wrote:They plan to open two stores in Plano and Frisco next year.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/ret ... into-d-fw/

AMA wrote:

Addison wrote:They plan to open two stores in Plano and Frisco next year.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/ret ... into-d-fw/

HEB has already been in DFW for nearly two decades. There's an HEB in Waxahachie.

H-E-B is excited to announce plans to bring its flagship H-E-B brand stores to the DFW Metroplex next year...

itsjrd1964 wrote:

Addison wrote:Also, I've been thinking...

I know H-E-B owns property in Buckner Terrance and DeSoto, while the other land they own in Dallas is destined for Central Market. But I'm not sure where there would be enough buildable land in Dallas proper (at least on the north side) for the huge store sizes H-E-B tend to have.

A couple possibilities are:

*Preston Road south Belt Line Road in Far North Dallas (next to TJ Maxx).

I would think that land would be too close to the White Rock Creek bottom, and also might not be enough land.

*Coit Road south of Frankford Road in Far North Dallas (next to PetSmart). This one however have the issue of being right down the street from a Central Market as well as right next door to a Super Target (not sure H-E-B wants to cannibalize their own store and compete directly with Target...).

Too close to Central Market, the Target might be an issue, and the neighborhood around the corner on McCallum might not be to their liking demographically.

One spot I thought of, is the ex-Albertsons/ex-Sun Fresh at Ferndale/NW Highway.

Wherever else they go, we know they will be slow and methodical about the process.

H-E-B has purchased a building on West Wheatland Road in southern Dallas and near neighborhoods in Duncanville and DeSoto.

The 58,940-square-foot supermarket at 4101 W. Wheatland Road was built for Albertsons and opened in 1985. It operated as an Albertsons until 2004 and has been vacant for years.

potatocoins wrote:Also waiting for one in the East Dallas area..

cowboyeagle05 wrote:Sounds like a purchase for one of their budget brands. There just isn't the land for a full blown HEB on this site plus the income level isn't there target area. DMN is so trigger happy on HEB purchases now cause I assume it gets clicks.

A friend visited a newer store down in San Antonio over the holiday and told me about how in the middle of the store they had "boutique" shopping experience's. Kind of like how JcPennys did those mini stores inside their stores. He also said they built the store with outward facing retailers built into the side of the main store. So instead of having just big concrete tilt walls they designed the store to allow other smaller stores to take up space just like a normal shopping center. Which just reminds me of how Malls have done it in places like Firewheel when big box stores have a small façade for the entrance and smaller stores line the sidewalk making it less like a large wasteland between the big store and the smaller brands. Can you tell I have only been to one HEB in my life.

Addison wrote:Not sure what the outcome was, but a Special Meeting was held by the Forney City Council for the proposed H-E-B on Thursday...

https://www.inforney.com/business/counc ... 504d8.html

Addison wrote:Looks like the H-E-B in Allen is next...

https://www.construction.com/projects/d ... il-package

R1070 wrote:Did HEB sell the land they had in Dallas at Lemmon and Throckmorton or is that the Bowser property?

undefinedprocess wrote:Aside from that, they better start on the Beckley store ASAP or I'm gonna get really mad.