H-E-B opens kosher-focused store in Houston

Dive Brief:

H-E-B this week opened a 95,000-square-foot store in Houston's Meyerland Plaza that features an extensive selection of kosher, local and prepared foods along with two-story covered garage with elevators and escalators. The store replaces a former store that closed in 2017 due to flood damages from Hurricane Harvey.
Many of the store's kosher products are produced in-store and approved by H-E-B's full-time mashgiach. Kosher items include coffee and sandwiches from The Roastery, sushi, custom cuts from its meat department and bakery items like cakes, breads and bagels.
In addition, the store has 1,800 H-E-B Organics products, a seafood department with 28 feet of fresh fish and seafood flown in daily, a wine and beer selection featuring 2,000 SKUs with 195 feet of wine and a variety of craft beer. There's also a full-service pharmacy and dozens of H-E-B Meal Simple heat and serve items on display.

Dive Insight:

In addition to its extensive product selection, H-E-B’s new store focuses on service and experience. This includes assistance from a wine manager to find pairings, and a Showtime Kitchen featuring live demonstrations and daily samplings with quick recipes that shoppers can replicate at home.

The Meyerland store's enhanced kosher selection reflects the surrounding community. Houston has the fifth largest Jewish population in the country and second-largest in the state behind Dallas. Local gourmet grocer Belden's, a Houston institution for more than 80 years that served the Jewish community, closed earlier this month, giving H-E-B an opportunity to attract more business.

H-E-B also operates a Kosher Store inside one of its Austin locations.

Foodservice is also a big focus for the H-E-B. Its upscale coffee shop, The Roastery, opened its first in-store location in 2018 and is now in five Houston H-E-B stores. The New York City cafe brand features signature coffee drinks and menu items like espresso-rubbed roast beef sandwiches.

Unlike many retailers that are focused on scaling down, H-E-B continues to build large stores that include more experience-focused features like beer halls, in-store restaurants and outdoor seating. The retailer is making a $200 million investment in South Austin, Texas including a remodel of H-E-B Plus! and the opening of three new stores, one that is 130,000-square-foot.

For busy shoppers that don’t want to peruse the aisles of the large store, H-E-B still offers its home delivery and curbside pickup, which sports the industry's fastest service, according to a study by Rakuten Ready.