H-E-B Announces Closure of Austin Store

Beloved Texas grocer H-E-B is closing an Austin store in a move that shows just how far the company has evolved as a real estate empire.

The San Antonio-based grocery chain is closing its Spicewood Springs Road location, at 12860 Research Boulevard, on July 31, according to the Austin Business Journal. The ‘80s-era store, which is significantly smaller than modern H-E-B locations, is approaching the end of its lease.

The closure comes as H-E-B plans to modernize five nearby stores. The company is also opening multiple new stores in Austin, including at 15000 IH-35 in Buda, and an expanded store at 598 East Hwy US 290 in Dripping Springs.

The future of the Spicewood Springs Road location highlights the evolution of H-E-B from a local grocery chain to a real estate company. H-E-B stores getting built today — and the land they sit on — are owned by the company. Plus, modern stores are massive, typically spanning more than 125,000 square feet.

The company is in lockstep with exploding population growth around the state, especially in Dallas-Fort Worth. In recent years, it’s gobbled up acreage in north Dallas-Fort Worth in growth hotspots like Forney, Sherman, Melissa, Flower Mound and McKinney.

H-E-B is also opening its first store within Dallas city limits after securing approval and buying property at Hillcrest Road and LBJ Freeway. For the store, the company purchased Commerce Plaza Hillcrest, a three-building office property at 12800-12890 Hillcrest Road that sits on 10 acres, from Gerald Haddock’s Silver Star Properties.

The company’s growth strategy also includes its upscale brand Central Market, which is coming to Uptown Dallas, and Joe V’s Smart Shop.

H-E-B, led by chairman Charles Butt, is the largest private employer in the state of Texas. It employs more than 27,000 people in the Austin area alone.