If you live in Texas, chances are you’re familiar with H-E-B. It didn’t take long after moving to San Antonio for me to become a fan of H-E-B. With their larger than average selection of ethnic, organic, natural, and gluten-free foods as well as the fact that they have loads of high value manufacturer coupons placed right next to the respective item it didn’t take me long to catch the H-E-B shopper enthusiasm.
Today marked the Grand Opening of the H-E-B’s largest store. This H-E-B Plus located at 9238 North Loop 1604 West, San Antonio 78250 (exit at Bandera) is 182,000 square feet. More superstore than grocery store, the store boasts a huge pet shopping center…
The section was so huge I could only get a small portion of it. Look at those adorable dog outfits! They even have bulk doggie treats!
There is also a huge baby center, housewares center, and grilling center. The housewares section could rival that of Bed, Bath, and Beyond with hundreds of products at a wide range of price points. The grilling center has more varieties of charcoal and smoking wood than I ever knew existed. They also have enough grills and smokers to satisfy any grilling enthusiast.
The Cooking Connection area intrigued me. This whole station is set up to give shoppers “20 minute meal solutions”. You can stop by the Cooking Connections station and get great ideas on simple, delicious dinners you can cook up in a jiff. The meat market directly behind the Cooking Connection is very large with a custom meat shop where they will cut your meat for you.
Just in case you get hungry while shopping or need a quick meal to take home there are two eateries, Stackers with freshly made sandwiches and The Flaming Bird Grill where you can take home a whole rotisserie chicken for $5.
This newest H-E-B Plus leaves little not thought of in regards to energy efficiency. The store is built with plenty of skylights to bring in natural light during the daytime. It actually gives you a feel of shopping outdoors. All the lighting is LED which conserves energy and functions better in the cold temperatures of the refrigerators and freezers. The freezer cases are even outfitted with motion sensor lighting so the lights will turn off when no one is shopping in that part of the aisle.
Walking through the store, seeing the unparalleled (in San Antonio, at least) selection of foods, the thoughtful design and architecture, and the obvious thought it’s designers had given to make an overall pleasant shopping experience.
If you’re in the area be sure to stop by and be awed for yourself. Oh, and don’t forget the milk.

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