H-E-B

Never crowded, good customer service, prime bakery. My only beef is that they don’t carry any of the Mexican brands that were available to me at my old HEB.

My H-​E-​B luckily is my favorite. The smaller size of this location works to its advantage. I’ve found many great, healthy products here that aren’t sold at other locations, which means I can find everything that I want at this cozy store. A diverse cross section of Far West apparently agrees. We’re all united in our pursuit of everyday low prices.

It is 3:08 pm.
I have been here since quarter to 2 waiting for the staff to cook the prime rib!
What is wrong with this place?

Trentnity A is an incompetent rude cashier.
She was extremely cold & didn’t say hello.
She didn’t scan my coupon (I lost a dollar).
She mischarged me for bok choy when I had baby bok choy.
She tore off my lemon juice tag without asking. Who gave you permission to alter my products?
Avoid her at all costs, she is an unpleasant individual. She usually lurks around the express lane.
If I had to guess, her bad weave was on too tight giving her a headache, which she took out on the customers.

Seems all my visits are at times when few lanes and fewer express lanes are open and lines are long

I love my neighborhood HEB on Village Center Drive. They are the best of what a grocery store should be.
I grew up in Louisiana with Piggly Wiggly and Brookshire Brothers stores. They were always clean, with hospitable employees and an abundance of varied items. This store is the closest I’ve found that harkens back to those ‘good old days.‘
I live within walking distance and shop there 2 – 5 times per week. I can’t say I’ve ever had a bad experience there.
Prices are good (comparable with Wal-​Mart even on health/​beauty items) and they have great coupons and weekly sales.
The main thing though, is their customer service. Hubby and I have a 22 (almost 23) year old blue heeler. He no longer gets around very well, and we use the little ‘pee pads’ for him. HEB makes a GREAT brand. (Puddlebusters they are called) They have made our lives soo much easier. When the store was out of stock for a bit, I contacted them through their customer service email.
I have since been in correspondence with one Ms. Belinda Punchard, who now feels almost like a member of our family. She advised me due to the success of the Puddlebusters (who knew?) that the warehouse was having trouble keeping up with production. She remained in contact with me and when they got more from the warehouse, held a case for us, and let me know I could come pick them up! Now that they have caught up w/​production, there is always a good stock of them and we have not had an issue since then.
On a 2^nd item (also doggie related) our other dog loved the ‘Blue Dog Bakery’ Peanut Butter and Molasses treats. When the pet section got redesigned, they no longer carried them. (I think we may have been the only ones buying them, but we like to keep our doggies happy!)
I let Belinda know, and BAM, she emailed me back a couple of days later that they had a case waiting for me at the desk.
I don’t know when I’ve received customer service that good recently. It really seems to be a lost art, but my HEB is keeping the dream alive with employees like Belinda! I just reordered another case of Blue Dog Bones and this was her exact response:
Debra,
I got a case ordered for you. They will arrive overnight Thursday, so you can pick up Friday morning or the next time you shop. Thank you for shopping with us!
HEB will soon have a new in-​line ordering system that you might like. You will be able to go to
, and place an order to be delivered to your home! But I will always be happy to keep doing it this way for you.
See you soon!
Thanks!
Belinda
Now, folks, I don’t know where you are shopping, but in my book, it doesn’t get better than that. This is how a business gets and keeps regular happy customers.

All I can say is HEB have great products at great prices! I love their new Organics brand and their other HEB brands. Most of them are better than the brand they are comparing themselves to. Try the salmon patties and the brisket chuck burgers both in the seafood/​meat market sections.

Excellent company. Excellent selection and prices. Most of the staff have worked here for several years. Sometimes it’s not stocked the best but I’ll take that con in exchange for all the pros. I also like their new brand of healthy dog food that donates to Texas shelters :)

They’re very friendly here! Especially the cashiers. You’re not going to find everything your looking for here, because of its size, but they try. One thing I noticed, however, the customers are not as friendly as what I’m used to, living in the hill country. Oh well, life in the fast lane. Thank you heb, for another great store.

A store manager returned my call in a timely manner and was very apologetic. I expressed my biggest concern, which was the way we were initially approached and he assured me that would not be an issue again.

Great HEB, especially if you are looking for a Kosher selection. Checkout lines are short, and the staff is friendly.

I LOVE HEB. Ya’ll don’t know a bad grocery store until you move to NYC. I love all the HEB products and the staff is always friendly about helping you find things. Also if you request any product to be sold in stores, they are pretty good at getting it in. They got the PB2 that I had been wanting forever. Plus they have a pretty awesome kosher section (not that I keep kosher), but I really wanted krembo after a trip to Israel and they had them in all flavors!

This particular one is my fave. I can’t remember the name of the lady in charge of the booze department, but she rocks! I was always a fan of, the ever elusive Steve, at the 42^nd location, but now there’s Lana… That’s her name! I don’t think she pins her name on things like Steve did:(. I was In love with Steve. Never saw the guy, and I think he might not work at the other location any longer?, but his picks always fit the bill. Same with this location.
The store is always clean and most always has what I’m there lookin’ for, except rice noodles… they are often out of those. They have a Kosher department for those in need of that. They have bulk bins. The people are nice, despite the bitchy Mercedes SUV driving hoohah that almost plowed me in the crosswalk the other day, I’m a happy camper.
In summary, grab some wine to go with dinner and watch before you set foot in the crosswalk, and this store will do ya right.

Found spices in bulk here today! There are little baggies for you to put in however much or little you want. It’s near the bulk food section. There are more spices behind the jars at the front of the shelves. Not a huge list of spices, but I saw quite a few that I don’t have and would come in handy in small quantities.
This is great for occasional cooks like me. lf I had known sooner that my regular HEB had spices in bulk, I wouldn’t have two pounds of garam masala in my pantry waiting for me to cook that curry dish two hundred more times.
Ready to go through my recipe book now!

Great HEB. Clean, well organized, and lots of samples. I’m guilty of walking though the bakery and trying all the breads available: pumpernickel, sourdough, jalapeño cheese, multigrain wheat… Yum. Of course it’s busy on the weekends, of course the isles get congested; I like to go Friday morning and it’s not as bad as Saturday or Sunday. They have a great kosher department, nice beer selection, and tons of organic options.
I worked at a grocery store for 3 years in HS and college, so I’m super particular about my bagging. I like cold together, crushables together, cans together etc. Of course, good naggers are hit or miss. I just hope they never see me in the parking lot, rearranging my bags like a psycho person

H-​E-​B is great! Wish they had it in Cali! It has to be my fav grocery store! It’s very inviting & there’s so many options. Gotta love the prices & lowered tax.
Usually, we get Blue Bell ice cream, beef jerky, etc.
We got lucky & found the Blue Bell Ice cream truck in the parking lot.

This review is specifically about the Kosher Store inside the HEB here, and more specifically their reuben.
This is my favorite reuben in Austin. These guys really know how to make one. To start with they use kosher corned beef of course, and then throw it on the flat top grill to give it a nice sear. They follow that up by using the flat top for all the ingredients. the kraut is thrown on their to warm up, the bread is toasted, and the cheese is partially melted on top of the kraut before they throw it all together in one heavenly creation. Ok, so they don’t put the dressing on the grill and instead wait until they put the sandwich together to add it. The way all the flavors combine on the grill, plus the high quality of the ingredients make the best reuben in town.
Yeah, it’s a little on the pricy side. It is big though and could be shared by two people as long as one of them isn’t a food hoarder like me. Touch my reuben from here and we’ll have problems. There is some seating, but not much since it is located in a grocery store, but as long as you live/​work close you can get it home in plenty of time to still enjoy it.

Reasons to come here:
–if you’re close by
–if you need to run multiple errands (ex. post office just a block away)
–craving something from the kosher deli
–friendly cashiers most of the time
–easy to access coupon section at the very front :)
Reasons why this location annoys me:
–small & crowded
–they’re always out of small carts, which makes reason #1 even more annoying (esp when you have t-​rex arms & can’t hold a basket for your life…)
–I don’t get cell phone reception in parts of the store
–they run out of things rather quickly (sometimes a girl just needs CHICKEN LEGS)
–why would you put the cheese section SO FAR AWAY from the rest of the dairy? WHY? so that when I’m done shopping for all my other items, I can run all the way across the store to get the cheese & make more traffic for incoming customers? (it’s either that or get the cheese right when you walk in… and hope it doesn’t spoil by the time you get home)
–one of the samples ladies really really pressures you to buy what she offers… so you feel guilty if you don’t… i hate that feeling.
That being said, I do still come here for the convenience since it’s close to work. It could be better, but it doesn’t stop me from coming when I need a thing or two to make dinner.

This HEB stocks Grandma’s Hummus! If you have not tried it, TRY IT!
Austin faces a dearth of grocery store choices. But that’s okay, because we have HEB. HEB hits a sweet spot between price and quality. Prices are good, quality is good, the store brand is good. Thank you, Howard E. Butt.
At this location…
— Produce can be iffy.
— The cheese is at the deli, not in the dairy section!
— There’s quite a large kosher deli.
— Sells bulk nuts, dried fruit, flour, spices, etc.
— Recently started carrying eggs that are «Certified Humane», which are impossible to find at any mainstream grocery store.
— Nice beer/​wine selection.
— Baked goods are mediocre.
I usually hit HEB on weeknight evenings to avoid the crowds and headaches.

My wishlist for grocery stores and how this HEB stacks up:
1. ORGANICS and LOCAL items: I wish I could buy all my groceries at this store, but they have such a low supply of organics, from fresh to frozen and no local dairy. However, the organic meat selection has doubled; yea, Applegate products!
2. PRODUCE: The produce selection is average but definitely better cared for than at other HEBs. It is also fresh, which means it lasts longer, except berries.
4. NAVIGATION: I do wish this HEB would emulate the HEB at 2222 and 620 as far as selection and organization but space is definitely limited. The remodel feels like it only added 6 inches. Yet, now two carts can exist side-​by-​side in one aisle! That was an appreciated change for everyone.
5. CHECK-​OUT: There are two checkout places and the one by the produce is like an escape hatch: you can only dash out if you have under 5 items though. Recently, they changed the «20 or less» to «10 or less» which is a pain. Why can’t they have one of each? Two of one and one of the other? The checkout moves fairly smoothly. The cashiers and baggers are friendly and make eye-​contact.
6. FROZEN YOGURT: An entire half of an aisle of frozen treats, and hardly any frozen yogurt. One brand with a small container of chocolate froyo? Come on!
7. EMPLOYEES: I love them! First, they work hard. Serious. Every time I am there, they are focused on their work and never have I seen dillydallying or overheard a non-​work related conversation. Second, they are so helpful and never scoff at my not finding an item staring me in the face. Almost everyone who walks by will ask how I am doing. The guys working produce always smile and seem to enjoy helping me. This is the only HEB in town where I feel like the employees like their jobs. The demonstration chefs are a great idea. I like to listen from the side lines.
8. COMMUNITY: I live near the HEB and about once a week a grocery cart or two will run wild down the street or appear in our yard. I have several times returned them the HEB myself because their patrols are too infrequent. It seems like they do this once a week at the most, but there are close to 10 bus stops within a ½ mile radius.