Check out H-E-B’s new multi-level store in Austin

H-E-B has opened its long-awaited store in the Lake Austin area of the Texas capital.

The 97,000-sq.-ft. location, whose construction began in 2019 but was delayed due to the COVID pandemic, is the grocer’s first multi-level store in Austin. It is packed with an array of features designed to make it a community gathering place as much as a retail destination. Customers can take in a view of Lake Auston from the store’s two-story porch, visit a full bar with indoor and outdoor seating and a coffee shop serving handmade breakfast tacos.

In addition, the new location houses H-E-B’s Texas BBQ restaurant (named best barbecue chain by Texas Monthly) and SouthFlo Pizza eatery.

Structured underground parking allows for a welcoming, pedestrian-friendly perimeter with wide sidewalks to encourage walking and biking to the store.  as well as street-level landscape that softens the store’s impact on the neighborhood.

Customers will have access to the second-level sales floor via three elevators, an open stairway and multiple escalators and cart escalators.

Store Design

The H-E-B design team, which planned the store, introduced design elements that complement the neighborhood. These include vine-covered walls, pitched roofs that relate the building’s scale to the surrounding locale and textured materials such as limestone, wood, D’Hanis brick and metals.

The store also incorporate environmental sustainability elements, including energy-efficient refrigeration with condensation capture for landscape irrigation and rooftop solar panels. EV chargers are due to be installed soon.

The new location offers a wide variety of fresh foods and quality products, with a variety of departments, including: 

• Full-service pharmacy with drive-thru;

• The company's largest “Dinner Tonight” selection, with “meal simple” offerings, sushi and “cooking connections demos;

• Hand-made sushi made in-store daily and hot, ready-to-eat selection

• Large seafood section with fresh season seven days a week;

• Meat market which includes fully cooked options;

• Extensive craft been and wine section with a sampling station;

• Deli department with charcuterie station;

• Healthy Living department with bulk food items, sports nutrition products and supplements; 

• and more.

In celebration of the grand opening, H-E-B made donations totaling $35,000 to local nonprofit organizations and surrounding schools. H-E-B donated $5,000 each to the Central Texas Food Bank and Treefolks. Pop-up Birthday, a nonprofit that provides birthday celebrations for children in foster care, and nearby schools Casis Elementary School, Mathews Elementary School, O. Henry Middle School, and Austin High School received $5,000 each in H-E-B gift cards.

The largest privately held employer in Texas, H-E-B has more than 430 stores and 154,000 employees in Texas and Mexico.   The company operates Central Market stores throughout Texas, as well as Joe V’s Smart Shop and Mi Tienda store formats in Houston.