“Made for the love of Texans” isn’t just a phrase found on the labels of certain H-E-B products. It is indicative of the great love story penned between the San Antonio-based grocery chain and the Lone Star residents who consider it a home away from home.
For born and raised Texans and transplants alike, H-E-B is an integral part of Texas culture — but some areas of the state don’t have personal experience with the grocery brand to pull from. Despite there being more than 400 H-E-Bs across Texas and Mexico, two of the state’s largest cities don’t have an H-E-B to call their own…yet.
“I say this with my whole chest and can’t emphasize this enough: EL PASO!!!!!!!!!!” one Reddit user wrote. “The closest ones are in Lubbock, Midland, and Big Spring. Surely if Lubbock can support an HEB, El Paso can.”
El Paso is home to more than 681,000 people as of July 2024 U.S. Census estimates, but its remote geographic location, slower population growth and decreased per capita income levels could all contribute to the lack of storefronts, Tom Fullerton, a professor of economics at the University of Texas at El Paso, said in an interview with the San Antonio Express-News last February.
“While we have a lot of work to do, we look forward to connecting with our neighbors, the city, and community stakeholders to ensure we create a destination that best supports this community,” Mabrie Jackson, public affairs managing director for H-E-B and Central Market, said at the time of the announcement. “This is the first step in a long process, and we hope to share more details with our neighbors soon.”
It isn’t just the overshadowed major Texas cities where residents are seeking an expanded presence. Other communities floated included Galveston, Llano, Canyon Lake, Tyler, Amarillo, Spicewood and Del Valle — the latter a continuous request from Central Texans to mitigate the ongoing food desert in the community southeast of Austin.
“[It’s] frustrating why the west side of I35 has so many more restaurants and stores, but the east side is insanely lacking and Del Valle is the most blatant example of that,” one user commented.