Any particular reason why the SA Central Market is the worst out of all of them? (Houston: to buy, tornado)

[ZenyattaFrittata]

HEB is based in San Antonio and is pretty much SA's only true grocery store (yeah, I know about Trader Joe's and Whole Foods; I'm talking about similar stores like Kroger, Albertson's, etc.). Why is the Central Market here, and many of the regular HEBs for that matter, so much worse than the ones in Austin, Houston, and especially DFW?

I was raised in DFW and grew up shopping at Central Market. Upon moving to SA I was shocked that not only is there just one single Central Market, but also at how sub-par it was compared to the several others I've been to. It seems neglected. It's small, looks fairly run down and dirty, and the quality of produce has been pretty terrible every time I've been. Every other Central Market seems to have 25-50% more selection in almost every department.

Is this Central Market dying due to lack of a population/demographic that can sustain it? It's no secret that Houston, Austin, and DFW are MUCH wealthier than SA and have a population that has no problem dropping lots of money each week/month at a high end grocery store. Does the company put more effort into the stores in those locations because of that? I've been to all of the new HEBs in the Dallas area as well, and seeing how impressive they are compared to 99% of the HEBs in San Antonio makes make think that is the case.

Bonus question: why won't HEB open a Joe V's in San Antonio? Are they afraid people will stop shopping at the regular HEBs and go to Joe V's to buy the same HEB items at a cheaper price? HEBs here are already priced higher than the ones in all of the markets mentioned earlier in this post, I presume because those markets have competition in the grocery sector.

[malcorub16]

Can't speak to why there is only 1, but it was built in 1997 and SA's wealthy class keeps moving farther and farther North year after year. This could be why not much of an effort is made to keep the only Central Market pristine despite being near wealthy Alamo Heights.

I akin it to the Costcos, not only are the only 3 on the North side but they are on the FAR NORTHSIDE all north of Loop 1604. That's always bugged me as someone who lives part time in South Bexar County.

Edit: Google says there is now one on the far west side also outside of 1604. Not sure when that happened, I will have to check it out next time I'm there over the summer.

[ged_782]

HEB recently announced a major makeover of the lone San Antonio/Alamo Heights Central Market.
https://newsroom.heb.com/central-mar...antonio-store/

[Azure110]

I think Joe V's is HEB wanting to compete with Aldi because you know HEB doesn't seem to want healthy competition in any market they do business in and they just don't play nice.

Because we don't have Aldi's in San Antonio, therefore we don't have Joe V's. Just my opinion.

The central market here in San Antonio (or Alamo Heights to be exact) started out as a regular HEB I was told. I never shopped there before it was converted to CM. Unlike the other CM, it didn't start out as a brand new building that was built to be CM from the very beginning. Probably why it is getting a major makeover as ged_782 mentioned.

The lincoln heights HEB seems to be nearing completion of a major makeover and it is turning out pretty nice.

[ged_782]

Originally Posted by Azure110

I think Joe V's is HEB wanting to compete with Aldi because you know HEB doesn't seem to want healthy competition in any market they do business in and they just don't play nice.

Because we don't have Aldi's in San Antonio, therefore we don't have Joe V's. Just my opinion.

The central market here in San Antonio (or Alamo Heights to be exact) started out as a regular HEB I was told. I never shopped there before it was converted to CM. Unlike the other CM, it didn't start out as a brand new building that was built to be CM from the very beginning. Probably why it is getting a major makeover as ged_782 mentioned.

The lincoln heights HEB seems to be nearing completion of a major makeover and it is turning out pretty nice.

Yes, the local Central Market started out in 1951 as a regular HEB. In the early 1980s, HEB built a new store directly behind the 1951 building, then demolished old building to create additional parking. The attached retail store (Cloth World?), and the 78209 Post Office remained in place. The 1990s saw a conversion of that HEB to Central Market, then after the closure of the attached retail business, Central Market expanded into that space. More recently, the Post Office moved to another facility, and presumably Central Market has or will take over that space, as well.

[Remington Steel]

North of 1604 "needs" a Central Market. Where they just recently opened up the new HEB near Old Fredericksburg Road should have been a Central Market instead of a "normal" HEB. There is already one a couple of miles down the road in Leon Springs. Damn....give us a Whole Foods if anything!

[RadiantBaby]

HEB isn't going to open another CM concept in this city. I know this as fact.

They are, however, finally spending the coin to renovate that old, cramped design of the AH store.

As with most things that are in wealthier cities in Texas, San Antonio always gets the smaller, less developed version based on our demographic.

[rynetwo]

They are going through upgrades to the CM and the Lincoln Heights HEB. San Antonio does not need another CM if they keep building stores like Alon, Lemon Creek, and Bandera and 1604.

I was surprised that Blanco and 1604 did not have get a CM. That intersection has everything anyone could want for grocery retail.

Super Target
Whole Foods
HEB+
Trader Joes
Wal-Mart and HEB 1.5 miles east

Also, where would it go? CM worked well in Dallas because they had no higher end HEBs so the metroplex was a clean canvas for them.

[elnina]

Originally Posted by RadiantBaby

HEB isn't going to open another CM concept in this city. I know this as fact.

They are, however, finally spending the coin to renovate that old, cramped design of the AH store.

As with most things that are in wealthier cities in Texas, San Antonio always gets the smaller, less developed version based on our demographic.

Thank goodness!
I was recently visiting Central Market in Plano, TX and was amazed by the size, services and variety of products.

It would be nice if they could build a second level on the top. This CM is the smallest of all I visited and non-food items are taking too much space.

The CM in Alamo Heights is one of their first locations (1997)

[ZenyattaFrittata]

Originally Posted by ged_782

HEB recently announced a major makeover of the lone San Antonio/Alamo Heights Central Market.
[url]https://newsroom.heb.com/central-market-announces-plans-for-major-renovation-at-san-antonio-store/[/url]

Thanks for the link, I missed this announcement. It's long overdue by the looks of the store and definitely the parking lot.

Originally Posted by Azure110

I think Joe V's is HEB wanting to compete with Aldi because you know HEB doesn't seem to want healthy competition in any market they do business in and they just don't play nice.

Because we don't have Aldi's in San Antonio, therefore we don't have Joe V's. Just my opinion.

I share that opinion. People treat HEB as some sort of saintly business, especially in San Antonio. They DO do some really excellent things for communities sometimes, but I think their hostility toward competition is an overall negative for the SA area. I'm not sure who to blame more, HEB or the people of SA for being so content with mediocrity.

Also, I can't help but remember that after their only store in Galveston (an economically disadvantaged area) was damaged by hurricane Ike in 2008, they completely left Galveston and never came back, leaving the island with only two true grocery stores. However, after a Central Market in Dallas (Preston Hollow to be exact, an extremely affluent area) was damaged by a tornado in 2019, they started rebuilding almost immediately. Interesting.

Originally Posted by rynetwo

Also, where would it go? CM worked well in Dallas because they had no higher end HEBs so the metroplex was a clean canvas for them.

Not sure, that ship has probably sailed. I was just surprised that there wasn't already more than one store. How many high end HEBs, or other grocery store companies, did SA have in the 90s? I did a quick Google search of the HEBs that people often refer to as the "higher end" locations and they were all built fairly recently (Alon - 2008; Bandera/1604 - 2016, Lemon Creek - last month, not even in San Antonio).

I guess HEB realized from the beginning that SA isn't exactly a market that could support high end shopping?