The bustling community of Killeen will soon get a new H-E-B grocery store, it was announced today by the Texas-based supermarket chain.

The new store will be on the northwest corner of West Stan Schlueter Loop and South Ford Hood Street.

In a release, the supermarket chain outlined its plans:

"Spanning 83,000 square-feet, the new store will feature fresh food departments including bakery, meat market, deli, and seafood; fresh sushi prepared by in-store chefs; large produce department with organic and local choices; oven-ready meals in its Meal Simple department; Healthy Living department; an expansive beer and wine department with wines from around the world; and a True Texas BBQ restaurant with in-house smoked all-natural meats, salads, sandwiches and True Texas Brews on Tap."

Beer and barbecue at the same location! I could be wrong but H-E-B seems to be taking a page out of the playbook from Schwegmann's Giant Supermarkets in New Orleans. The now-defunct chain had a restaurant which served beer inside every store. Back in the days when couples had to share a car, dad would drive mom to the grocery store. While the wife went in and "made groceries," the husband sat in the restaurant (more of a greasy spoon diner type situation) and drank beer on draft - Schwegmann's own brand, mind you, so it was cheap - only to ride home when the shopping was done.

It could be that because they're so forward-thinking, H-E-B takes the best ideas from supermarkets large and small, in Texas and out of state, and fuses them into their existing concept. They have a Whole Foods-style store concept, a Walmart-style concept, they just do everything right.

The release continued:

“H-E-B has served the Killeen and Fort Hood communities since 1958 when we opened our first store on North Gray in downtown,” said Jeff Thomas, Senior Vice President and General Manager of H-E-B Central Texas. “We’ve grown through the years with our customers, and this brand new H-E-B neighborhood store reflects our appreciation for their loyalty. Everything about this new location is tailored to this community and complements H-E-B’s commitment to providing unsurpassed quality and service with everyday low prices.”

Now who could argue with that? Or the 300 jobs this will produce? And no, they're not closing any stores to build this new one. Bravo!

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