7 Things to Buy at H-E-B’s New Frisco Store

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When my son was little, we went to visit family in San Antonio. He was feeling a little feverish so I asked my mom if she remembered where the nearest H-E-B store was. “I think on Bandera Road,” she replied, feeling her grandson’s forehead. I grabbed my keys and told John John I’ll be back with some Tylenol and pan dulce pastries if they have any.

The next day we were headed out of town on Bandera and we passed by that grocery store. My son, feeling back to his old self, pointed and asked, “Is that the Heb you went to?” We smiled and giggled, “It’s pronounced H-E-B.”

So last Tuesday when I attended the media preview for the new H-E-B Frisco store, located at 4800 Main Street, my son asked what the store was like and I showed him pictures. Then he asked, “Do you remember when I used to call it Heb?” I smiled and hugged him.

It seems like any Texan who’s ever lived south on I-35 or I-45 has a special affinity for H-E-B. It’s like the way we feel about Whataburger. It’s life. But understandably, if you’re a recent import to Texas or a lifelong Dallasite who doesn’t vacation on the Texas coast, you might not understand why a grocery store opening is such a big deal. CandysDirt.com can help.

The San Antonio-based grocery store has been family-run since its founding in 1905. H, E, and B are the initials of the founder’s son, Howard E. Butt, but the company has adopted the clever slogan, “Here everything’s better.”

The 118,000-square-foot Frisco store will employ approximately 750 associates, whom they call “partners.” Each store is custom designed for the area, so practically no two stores look identical. The San Antonio architect who designed this Frisco store, Jeffrey Williams, combed Collin County looking at the area’s architecture.

“This store has a classic midcentury architecture with brick and wood that’s modern,” Williams told me at Tuesday’s media preview.

This Frisco store will be the first in the grocery chain to carry more Asian, Southeast Asian, Kosher, and Halal products — a reflection of the surrounding population, H-E-B’s Mike Jarzombek said Tuesday while leading a tour of the new store. As such, the store bakery will sell fresh chapati and roti flatbread, popular in Indian cuisine, and other international staples.

There’s a lot here. Here are 7 finds you can’t go wrong with at H-E-B:

1. Creamy Creations Texas Starry Night

(Half gallon $5.98)

Our fearless leader Candy Evans raves about the specialty flavors of ice cream at Central Market, H-E-B’s upscale cousin, but she’s about to be introduced to H-E-B’s store brand of ice cream, Creamy Creations — churned in San Antonio with fresh cream from their local creamery. H-E-B operates most all their manufacturing plants to ensure quality control and keep costs down.

A viral favorite is Texas Starry Night, which has chunky swirls of ice cream sandwich cookies in a base of chocolate ice cream. And I know what you’re thinking. What about our beloved Blue Bell? Brace yourself, people say Creamy Creations are better.

Credit: @FancyPantsless via Twitter

2. H-E-B Butter Tortillas

(10 pack $2.55 or 20 pack for $5.14)

Here’s another viral favorite that fans can’t get enough of: Butter Tortillas. It’s an unexpected flavor that’ll jump out at you as you peruse the choices of regular flour, white corn, yellow corn, whole wheat, and even pro-Keto low-carb tortillas. They’re sold warm, which makes getting these buttery, aromatic tortillas home in one complete package a real challenge.

Every morning at 4 a.m., H-E-B bakers begin pulling and pressing dough into perfectly imperfect, homemade tortillas. Even Bon Appetit magazine sang their praises, devoting 1,000 words to, “Why Are H-E-B Flour Tortillas So Dang Good?.”

Credit: @SuperSonya via Twitter

3. Texas-Grown Produce

When’s the last time you saw a cantaloupe that big? H-E-B works directly with Texas farms to buy state-grown produce as part of its Texas Roots line. These cantaloupes are grown by Mandujano Brothers Produce in Pecos County, West Texas, and are known for their thicker flesh and a smaller pocket of seeds than other varieties from Pecos.

For its Texas Roots line, H-E-B traverses the state. They source corn and green beans from Castroville, berries from Poteet, baby bella mushrooms from Madisonville, onions from Hidalgo County, tomatoes from Marfa, and citrus and cilantro from the Valley, to name a few.

As a subset of H-E-B produce, we’d be remiss if we didn’t highlight the juice. Fans say the in-store, fresh-squeezed juice from South Texas oranges is heavenly. This store has 65 varieties of fresh-pressed juice to choose from. Apparently, Awsten Knight, the lead singer of Houston-based punk pop band Waterparks, is social media vocal about his love of H-E-B orange juice. He has a picture of juice framed on his walls and posts frequently on Instagram about his devotion.

4. The Best Cuts of Meat

H-E-B loyalists will tell you the store’s meat and produce selection are bar none, the best in Texas. And the meat and poultry selection at Frisco’s new store will send your cholesterol a few points higher.

They offer beef that is dry-aged in-store for at least 21 days. Select the beef you want from the butcher counter, or tell them exactly how many days you want your beef dry-aged and they’ll hold it until your desired pick-up date.

Grill fans on Reddit are salivating at the fact that H-E-B sells dry-aged steaks at the butcher counter. “Stopped at the HEB to get something to grill and saw this. Couldn’t believe it. I spoke to a butcher and he said this was brand new and the steaks weren’t done aging yet. They will start selling them on (I think) the 27th.,” one Redditor writes.

They also sell Wagyu Beef ground beef burgers, ready-to-grill marinated fajitas, and something called Air Chilled Chicken. Each bird is individually chilled over the course of about three hours, moving into carefully monitored temperature-controlled chambers where purified air cools them to create better-tasting chicken.

5. Home by H-E-B

H-E-B’s new home section is an upscale offering for the Frisco store. Here you’ll find plenty of Texas kitch and even locally-sourced home goods such as candles, ottomans, genuine leather chairs, cattle skins, cutting boards, rugs, pillows, blankets and more.

6. Whataburger EVERYTHING

H-E-B carries a full line of Whataburger-branded items. This isn’t just that gorgeous black bottle of Whataburger spicy ketchup. H-E-B sells Whataburger Jalapeño Ranch, Honey Butter, and Creamy Pepper in a bottle, plus Picante Salsa, Pork Sausage, and Pancake Mix. Did you know these orange wonders existed?!

“The legendary condiments that Texans can’t get enough of are here! We’ve created a one-stop shop for all of your favorite Whataburger condiments. Whether you’re buying for yourself, or sending someone a little taste of Texas, this kit is sure to bring happiness to any home.”

7. Meal Simple ANYTHING

If you thought the selection of Central Market ready meals was good, wait till you see what the Frisco H-E-B has for you. The store carrries three categories of easy prep meals: ready to eat, ready to heat, and ready to cook. They offer different sizes, too, including family size Chicken and Bacon Mac & Cheese, Chicken Alfredo Penne, and Pizza Bake. In fact, you’ll find several “Texas-size” grocery staples that aim to compete with club warehouses, Jarzombek says.

In the way of ready-to-eat foods, the Frisco H-E-B also has a Sushiya deluxe sushi storefront with over 50 varieties of spring rolls, sushi rolls, cream cheese rangoons, pot stickers and poke bowls. They even sell sushimi as sushi by the pound.

It’s not grocery store sushi, it’s H-E-B Sushiya.

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Readers, what’s your favorite H-E-B item? Share below in the comments!

John Skrhak, 14, contributed to this report.

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Shelby is Associate Editor of CandysDirt.com, where she writes and produces the Dallas Dirt podcast. She loves covering estate sales and murder homes, not necessarily related. As a lifelong Dallas native, she's been an Eagle, Charger, Wildcat, and a Comet.

11 Comments

  1. Stacy Beavers on September 25, 2022 at 10:15 am

    Please please please build a store on one of the 2 lots you have purchased in Denton, TX!!!

  2. MC Munson on September 25, 2022 at 2:30 pm

    I’m going to add to this list…mini Maria cookies! I use these in banana pudding instead of nilla wafers and to scoop peanut butter or Nutella. Or just plain!

  3. Delicia on September 25, 2022 at 7:28 pm

    HeB, please give consideration in coming to Sulphur Springs Texas. I30 runs right through town.
    Give Walmart and Brookshire’s some competition. Lol
    Love love HEB products

  4. Anne on September 26, 2022 at 8:54 am

    AN upscale offering. Not A upscale offering.

  5. Lisa Suges on September 26, 2022 at 9:38 am

    Lets get that Prosper store up and running ASAP 🙂

    Thank you and Love HEBA!

    Lisa in Celina

  6. Al on September 26, 2022 at 10:38 am

    Grew up in San Antonio & already know about HEB- Great Food & Fruits & Vegetables & Meats & Love that Holistic approach to healthy products too -& Wonderful service & Great & Awesome People-God Bless All – Al

  7. Jeanne on September 26, 2022 at 3:19 pm

    HEB in Corsicana Texas is dirty. Birds fly inside the store pooping on products in sleeves. All boxed cookies and cracker are made in Mexico. They mostly carry store brands. Never buy out of bulk bins due to bugs and dropping.

  8. Sudie Ritchie on September 28, 2022 at 1:07 pm

    Please bring in President salted butter to your store. We have to go to Central Market in Plano to purchase. It is the very best butter we’ve ever tasted. It would be a great product.

  9. Syed ASHRAF on September 29, 2022 at 7:09 am

    Please open your store in Mckinney thanks

  10. Ann on September 29, 2022 at 6:22 pm

    Great products at HEB
    1. Mixla tortillas -1/2 corn and 1/2 flour
    2. Spicy grated Parmesan
    3. Coconut shrimp ( in ready meals)
    4. Jalapeño deli ham
    5. Cafe Ole’ coffee by HEB, (Cinnamon hazelnut, San Antonio, Houston and Austin flavors)
    I could go on and on

    Signed
    HEB addict ( almost went through withdrawal when we moved north of DFW….not anymore!!)

    • Candy Evans on September 29, 2022 at 10:37 pm

      Oh me too. I buy way too much at Central Market Preston Royal. In fact, when it was closed for a year after the tornado, I lost weight!

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