On June 10, H-E-B will open its newest store, the H-E-B at 8801 S Congress Ave, near the corner of Slaughter Lane and I-35 in South Austin. With an unwavering commitment and dedication to serve our communities, this nearly 130,000-square-foot store will provide customers with unsurpassed service along with a wide variety of fresh foods and quality products at everyday low prices. This long-awaited store is part of more than $200 million in H-E-B projects in South Austin, some of which will experience updates to store opening and construction schedules due to evolving circumstances around the coronavirus crisis.
Slaughter Lane and I-35 H-E-B
Filled with some of the most modern amenities, innovations and features H-E-B offers, the vibrant market will offer H-E-B Curbside and Home Delivery services, a large pharmacy with drive-thru lanes, and boast the city’s first True Texas BBQ with a drive thru. Called the best barbecue chain in the state by Texas Monthly, the restaurant will have indoor and outdoor seating and the company’s first indoor children’s playground area (which will be temporarily closed due to coronavirus safety precautions).
Other amenities include:
- A wide selection of organic foods and expansive Healthy Living department,
- Blooms floral area;
- expanded beer and wine department;
- bakery with Tortilleria;
- full-service meat market and seafood counter;
- large Dinner Tonight selection with Meal Simple offerings, fresh sushi and Cooking Connection demos;
- and Texas Backyard, offering products for grilling, gardening and outdoor entertaining.
The location’s modern design is accented by a colorful facade and canopy of windows that allows large amounts of natural light to flow throughout the building. To protect the existing landscape and embrace the natural surroundings, H-E-B relocated several Heritage Oak trees throughout the property.
In celebration of this grand opening, H-E-B has made commitments totaling nearly $70,000 to local nonprofit organizations and surrounding schools. To help in their initiative to plant trees throughout the community, H-E-B donated $50,000 to Treefolks for a new watering truck to support planting and restoration projects across Central Texas. River City Youth Foundation will receive $3,000 in support to help with youth programming surrounding wellness, college and career readiness, mentoring, and more. And nearby schools — Akins High School, Paredes Middle School, and Blazier, Casey, Kocurek, and Williams elementary schools — will receive $15,000 in gift cards to support back to school efforts.
To show our appreciation for the hard-working staff at Central Texas Food Bank, H-E-B will donate some of the first meals cooked at our True Texas BBQ to over 150 Central Texas Food Bank staff members.
South 1st and William Cannon H-E-B
Announced last year, H-E-B will close one of its smaller stores at South 1st and William Cannon Dr. on June 5. H-E-B decided to close the aging store because it needs significant utility and facility repairs and does not have many of the departments and services customers expect such as pharmacy, Meal Simple and H-E-B Curbside. The new store on I-35 and Slaughter Lane is roughly 2.5 miles away. All South 1st and William Cannon H-E-B Partners will be offered positions at area stores.
For customers who live near the store, H-E-B will provide free Capital Metro bus passes to those in need of transportation assistance. To continue providing our most vulnerable neighbors with access to grocery items, H-E-B has donated $20,000 to the Central Texas Food Bank to support the creation of food boxes, which will be delivered through the MetroAccess service, coordinated by Capital Metro Transportation Authority and also distributed by Central Texas Food Bank at drive-thru mobile food pantries across Central Texas. Additionally, H-E-B donated $3,000 to Hungry Souls, an organization in South Austin that partners with local schools to provide weekend and school break meals for students and their families.
The H-E-B and Favor Delivery Senior Support service is also available, giving seniors 60+ access to same-day, contactless delivery of grocery essentials.
Project updates
Still, as the company adjusts to the new realities of these changing times, H-E-B has had to adapt its business, and this includes making some changes to other Austin store opening and construction schedules.
After careful consideration, H-E-B decided to postpone the construction start of the South Congress H-E-B, a complex redesign and landmark project for H-E-B. In the coming months, H-E-B will take a fresh look at the design to ensure it meets evolving shopping patterns and customer expectations as a result of COVID-19, as well as achieves the company’s own high standards.
“This is a special store, and we will move forward with construction when we are certain our plan offers the dynamic and innovative shopping experience our loyal and deserving South Congress customers will be proud of for decades to come,” said Leslie Sweet, H-E-B Director of Public Affairs. “This is a postponement only. We remain deeply committed to bringing South Congress customers an iconic store that will offer a unique, world-class shopping experience.”
Currently, H-E-B doesn’t have a new timeline for the design and construction of the South Congress H-E-B. The existing South Congress H-E-B will remain open to serve customers until construction starts. Once construction begins, H-E-B plans to open a temporary store across the street at the Twin Oaks Shopping Center. Customers at this store will see utility construction activity on site in the coming weeks as H-E-B moves forward with utility relocations required in advance of re-building the new store.
This summer, H-E-B is expected to begin construction on a new store that will replace an existing location in the Oak Hill community. This 90,000-square-foot stores will be located on more than 30 acres H-E-B owns at the southeast corner of U.S. Highway 290 and FM 1826. It’s expected to open next year.
Plans remain on track for the H-E-B Lake Austin on Exposition and Lake Austin Blvds., which is expected to open in early 2022 (the store’s expected completion date has been updated due to minor construction delays).
With over 50 stores in Austin and the surrounding area, H-E-B has several stores that have undergone renovation such as the East 7th Street H-E-B and the Riverside H-E-B plus!, which increased the store’s footprint and increased the Curbside size to one of the largest in the company. On May 8, H-E-B added and opened a Curbside department at the N Lamar Blvd and W Rundberg Lane H-E-B store.
As these projects develop, H-E-B will continue to update its news posts on H-E-B Newsroom with the latest information.
