As H-E-B opens in Frisco, here’s what we learned about Tarrant County’s future store

A new H-E-B grocery store is opening in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex on Wednesday, and crowds of shoppers are expected to be lining up well before dawn — so early that a DJ will start playing music at 4 a.m.

The H-E-B in Frisco will be the fifth in the North Texas region, but additional locations are in the pipeline including Tarrant County’s first H-E-B planned for Mansfield.

The Star-Telegram and other media got a sneak peek of the Frisco store Tuesday. While no two H-E-Bs are exactly the same — the retailer likes to tailor each store’s products to the local community — the Frisco H-E-B gives us some glimpses of what we can expect when Mansfield’s store opens, about 20 minutes south of Fort Worth.

The company expects to break ground on the Mansfield site in January or February, and then announce a construction timeline.

Until then, here’s what we know.

What’s inside the Frisco H-E-B?

The Frisco store, which opens at 6 a.m. Wednesday at 4800 Main St., has a full-service pharmacy with a drive-through, a True Texas BBQ restaurant and drive-through, an H-E-B gas station and a car wash. The 111,000-square-foot grocery store is the same size as the chain’s flagship format.

A new coffee flavor: Taste of DFW

In honor of expansion into the Dallas-Fort Worth market, the chain launched a new H-E-B Café Ole coffee flavor called Taste of DFW.

Sold in beans and K-cups, the new flavor varies from originals like Taste of San Antonio and adds a hint of chocolate.

H-E-B’s senior director of public affairs, Mabrie Jackson, confirmed the coffee flavor will eventually be present in existing store locations in Hudson Oaks and Burleson, closer to Fort Worth than the new Frisco location.

San Antonio and Houston are the only other Texas cities with coffee flavors named after them. Other Café Ole coffee flavors include Texas Pecan, Donut Shop, Colombian, Breakfast Blend and more.

Cowhide rugs, accent chairs: H-E-B home goods

H-E-B’s fairly new home goods collection, Home by H-E-B, is featured at 10 grocery stores across the state, but the Frisco location comes fully stocked with cowhide rugs, furniture and Texas-inspired decorations.

Jackson said the company hopes to open 25 home goods collections by next year, leaving it up to speculation whether a home goods collection will be in the Mansfield store.

The Frisco home goods collection is found near the front and center of the store just a few yards from check-out aisles. A section of aisle is reserved for small furniture items, candles, knick-knacks, household ornaments and home decorations.

Ingredients tailored to the community

The Frisco store has one of the largest Meal Simple departments at any H-E-B so far. The San Antonio-based H-E-B is known for its line of meals that are ready to heat, cook and eat.

The meal department features Asian, Mexican, Italian and Southeast Asian cuisines among others. For the first time, H-E-B will offer restaurant-grade sushi by the pound.

Southeast Asian prepared foods are present in the Frisco store as part of H-E-B’s strategy to survey local demographics and cater product offerings toward the surrounding community. Frisco has a larger South Asian and Indian community than the rest of DFW, leading the chain to also include a section full of South Asian yogurt brands.

Here are some other facts about H-E-B and its Frisco location:

• The store will feature 55 different items of cut fruit.

• H-E-B’s Frisco store is the first to have not one, but two tortilla makers for its butter tortillas. It will also feature fresh-made Indian chapati and roti bread.

• The grocery chain has more than 250 varieties of cheeses from around the world.

• H-E-B produces 62 million dozens of tortillas per year across the state.

• Seafood fans can have their fish steamed for free while shopping.

• The Texas-first grocery chain is the No. 1 beer and wine retailer in Texas.

• A portion of proceeds from the sale of pet food and goods goes to local animal shelters.

• The Frisco store has the largest selection of professional hair products in the entire company.

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