H-E-B just bought more land in Dallas-Fort Worth, signaling potential plans for store

H-E-B is continuing its growth across North Texas.

The San Antonio-based supermarket chain purchased nearly 20 acres property this week in Prosper, about 30 miles north of Dallas in Collin County, according to deed records.

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The lot is on the southeast corner of Dallas North Tollway and Frontier Parkway. The property, less than 2 miles from a Kroger, is large enough to build a supermarket, but the company has not confirmed its plans.

H-E-B has two stores under construction in Allen and McKinney that will open next summer. Last year, the Texas-focused chain announced goals to expand into the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The company also owns land in Alliance, in northern Fort Worth, where a developer in June revealed plans for an H-E-B before quickly backtracking to say only that a “major grocery” is coming to the H-E-B-owned site.

H-E-B Grocery Company LP has more than 420 stores and 145,000 employees across Texas and Mexico. H-E-B sees $34 billion in annual sales and is the largest food retailer and private employer in Texas. The Prosper property will be one of many tracts in H-E-B’s North Texas real estate portfolio.

The Prosper location is near Frontier Park, a high school and new housing developments.

H-E-B began in 1905 with a small grocery store in Kerrville, about 100 miles west of Austin.

Through the 1950s and 1960s, H-E-B became the leading food retailer in central and south Texas with more than 80 stores.

Through the chain’s expansion across Texas, H-E-B established trust and brand resonance with new customers by tailoring product offerings specific to the geographic area, industry experts say. This means no two H-E-B locations are exactly the same, setting the chain apart from nationwide competitors like Walmart and Kroger.

Today the company also operates 10 Central Market gourmet grocery stores in each of the state’s four largest metros, and two Mi Tienda Mexican grocery stores in Houston.

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