H-E-B Pantry Foods

H-E-B is quite the player in the Texas Food Market. They maintain 4 active and separate grocery store brands. Central Market, Joe V’s Smart Shop, Mi Tienda! and H-E-B. Operating locations in 4 out of the 5 largest metroplexes in the state, sorry El Paso. H-E-B also has extensive operations throughout Northeastern and Central Mexico. With all this progress, it become easy to forget where it all started. Before you read any further I just want to extend a thanks to Aaron Johnson of The Houston Files for helping compile the location list.

The expansion of H-E-B is relatively recent given the fact that it was founded in 1905, and Houston’s first “full fledged” H-E-B didn’t open until 2001. Prior to that H-E-B had focused on building outward from their home of Kerrville. Through this strategy they entered San Antonio in Austin. Eventually coming to Houston suburbs opening stores under the H-E-B Pantry Foods banner. The Pantry Foods banner was a limited concept compared to other grocery stores of the time. There were no specialty shops such as a Deli Counter, Bakery, or Butcher. If it wasn’t out on the shelf to be sold, it wasn’t available. The number of items in the store was also dropped limiting variety. These ideas helped to keep costs down. The end goal was to introduce H-E-B to the Houston area, as a serious competitor against chains like Kroger, and at the time AppleTree and Albertsons.

The end of H-E-B Pantry Foods was announced in 2000. H-E-B Corporate offices announced that all locations would be either converted or closed. Many of the buildings were not built by H-E-B, and more outdated than the competition. To save on costs H-E-B would often convert older grocery stores. The lack of space and selection also began to hurt the company as many shoppers moved to “One Stop Shop” grocery stores such as, Kroger Signature, Walmart Supercenter, and even Randall’s Flagship. By 2002 the company was closing their final Pantry Foods locations.

For the most part the locations were either replaced or remodeled. However, not every store had a replacement. Some were consolidated into others. At the same time the demise of the Pantry Foods brand, H-E-B began a huge push into Houston. Many locations which never had Pantry Foods locations gained new H-E-B’s. The Pantry Food’s experiment only lasted about 10 years. Some stores did survive, simply dropping the Pantry Foods banner. Some of these locations received small updates, and new products. However, they’re still quite limited compared to most other grocery stores.

Locations in the Houston Area

Locations Outside of Houston