Bushra Jones and her husband Will Jones shop for their weekly groceries during a grand opening event Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, at a new HEB store in Katy.
Jon Shapley/Staff photographer
Jessica Montez decorates desserts to be put out for sale at H-E-B’s Mi Tienda grocery store in the 3800 block of Little York on Thursday, April 6, 2023 in Houston.
Brett Coomer/Staff photographer
PhoLicious owners Anh and Joseph Trousdale compete in H-E-B’s 2023 Quest for Texas Best.
Courtesy of PhoLicious
Jacky Mercado, a 17-year-old senior, right, along with other cheerleaders from Aldine Senior High School perform at the grand opening event at Joe V’s Smart Shop by H-E-B, 10241 N Fwy., in Houston Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025.
Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle
H-E-B Bridgeland at Village Green at Bridgeland Central opened Oct. 30, 2024.
Marissa Luck/Houston Chronicle
Growing up in Houston’s East side, Richard Flores’ family did their grocery shopping at a variety of retailers: Weingarten’s, Kroger, Fiesta and Seller Bros., mixing it up on the hunt for bargains and specific foods. But their supermarket strategy changed when H-E-B came to town.
Overnight, there was a new shopping experience touting enormous variety, specialty foods all in one place, good prices and a new level of customer service geared to Texans.
Two decades later, Flores, a Houston paralegal, remains an H-E-B loyalist. And he’s still mixing it up, but within the H-E-B family of brands: The Magnolia Park-neighborhood foodie frequents several H-E-B locations as well as the company’s Mi Tienda concept.
Article continues below this ad
“H-E-B is always my first choice. I’m able to find more of what I need at their stores,” he said. “Plus, when you see all the labels, signs and stickers promoting Texas, it’s good to see they have pride in our state.”
That has to be music to H-E-B’s ears.
In terms of Lone Star State brands, H-E-B is a gold standard – a company whose customs and identity was born deep in the heart of Texas. While other home-grown brands have been widely embraced within American culture – Dr Pepper, Whataburger, Blue Bell and the juggernaut known as Buc-ee’s – H-E-B remains a distinctly regional phenomenon. Although it owns stores in Mexico, the supermarket remains profoundly tethered to its Texas roots, cultivating, nurturing and celebrating life in the land of longhorns, bluebonnets and barbecue.
But make no mistake, H-E-B Grocery Co. is a retail titan, a privately held grocery leviathan with sales of more than $50 billion across more than 455 stores in Texas and Mexico.
Article continues below this ad
With corporate headquarters in San Antonio, H-E-B enjoys market dominance in major Texas cities with its concepts including Central Market, Mi Tienda, Joe V’s Smart Shop and H-E-B Plus! (It also owns Favor Delivery service.) H-E-B has consistently earned its place as one of the nation’s top grocery retailers. It has a reputation as one of the country’s best large employers, too, praised for its customer experience and workplace culture; the company has more than 175,000 employees, it calls “partners.”
Not bad for a family enterprise that began in Kerrville in 1905 as the C.C. Butt Grocery Co. By 1946 when the company became known as H-E-B (the initials of Howard Edward Butt Sr., the youngest son of founder Florence Butt) it had already enjoyed steady expansion throughout South and Central Texas.
In Houston, the H-E-B stamp in the supermarket landscape is pronounced. The Houston region (which the company defines as stretching in the East in Orange to Columbus in the West, and North from Carthage South to Lake Jackson) is H-E-B’s most dynamic region. Not only is it the only division that boasts all company brands (97 H-E-B stores, one Central Market, 11 Joe V’s Smart Shop and two Mi Tienda stores), it represents a highly diverse population, from both ethnic and income perspectives. It also reflects a savvy, knowing and discerning customer base.
“One of the things that makes Houston different is that this market has boundless options of where people choose to get their groceries,” said Armando Perez, executive vice president for H-E-B Houston. “We need to work really hard to make sure our guests have a great experience because that experience will determine if they make another trip to us.”
He added that Houston shoppers are as astute as they are particular and discriminating: “Houstonians don’t do anything they don’t want to do.”
While the company’s expansion into the Houston marketplace began in 1992 with the H-E-B Pantry concept, the modern H-E-B era began in 2001 with the first larger, full-service H-E-B format. That same year also saw the introduction of Central Market, its epicurean concept. The company’s growth in the region has become a way of life for shoppers since 2001. And it’s not over: A new H-E-B is scheduled to open in New Caney before the end of the year and two more Joe V’s are planned for the area next year.
Article continues below this ad
It would be easy to think of H-E-B as shaping the shopping and eating habits in Houston, but the company sees it differently.
“We’ve worked hard to adapt to the way Houston has changed more so than the way we shaped Houston,” said Lisa Helfman, managing director of public affairs for the Houston division. “As communities change, we work hard to change with them.”
That adaptability is an H-E-B hallmark. Each store is tailored to the neighborhood it serves, representing a reflection of and a commitment to the habits of that distinct populace. For instance, its store in Meyerland, recognized as the historic and cultural hub of Houston’s Jewish community, stocks the largest assortment of kosher goods in the state.
The company also has bolstered its community engagement by acting as a trusted partner during crises. Its response to disasters (flooding, hurricanes, ice storms and even the pandemic) has been met with swift deployment of store reopenings, supplies and mobile kitchens, earning it brand loyalty.
“Everyone understands that the goal is to make a community better because we’re there,” Perez said. “We love to do the right things for the right reason. It’s in our DNA; it’s part of who we are.”
Article continues below this ad
No store does more? For H-E-B, it’s a commitment that goes beyond a familiar slogan. It’s a corporate mind set and culture that recognizes the uniqueness of Texas that the original founders embraced with conviction. The company’s championing of the foods, flavors and folkways of Texas are seen in actions, including funding and supporting food banks, literacy, military families and education initiatives. The company also promotes culinary entrepreneurs, suppliers and artisans with its Quest for Texas Best program, which puts uniquely Texas products on store shelves.
“We don’t promote Texas as much as we celebrate it. We’re Texas born and Texas raised, and we celebrate that heritage,” Perez said. “We’re honored to be part of that tradition, culture and legacy.”
Helfman added: “Not because we have to, but because it is who we are.”
Dining and Cooking