H-E-B plans two new grocery stores in North Texas, but you may not recognize the name

Texas-based grocery store chain H-E-B is bringing a new store concept to North Texas.

Joe V’s Smart Shop is a low-price grocery format that offers many of the same H-E-B products that made the chain so popular, including bakery tortillas, ready-made meals, fresh produce and more.

H-E-B announced plans Tuesday to open two Joe V’s Smart Shop locations in the Dallas area.

A store at the corner of West Wheatland Road and U.S. 67 - on the southwest side of Dallas just east of Duncanville - is expected to open in late summer 2024 in the Wheatland Village outdoor shopping mall. The location is next to a Louisiana Famous Fried Chicken and Sankofa Kitchen & Bar.

A second store, on Buckner Boulevard, south of Interstate 30, will open in spring 2025. The 5204 S. Buckner Blvd. location will be across from a neighborhood of homes and apartments a few miles southeast of the Dallas Arboretum and Botanic Garden on the east side of Dallas.

H-E-B first launched Joe V’s Smart Shop in 2010 in Houston. It now operates nine stores with more than 1,500 employees.

H-E-B will open new Joe V’s Smart Shop locations in 2024 and 2025.
H-E-B will open new Joe V’s Smart Shop locations in 2024 and 2025.

This is the first time the grocery chain has opened its low-price store concept outside the Houston area. Similar to traditional H-E-B stores, Joe V’s Smart Shop tailors its assortment of products to the local community.

The stores are usually about 55,000 square feet with 150 employees, whereas the traditional H-E-B flagship store format is closer to 111,000 square feet and could employ hundreds of people. H-E-B expected to hire 700 full- and part-time employees for its McKinney H-E-B back in February.

“To provide these high-quality items and keep prices low, we leverage operational efficiencies, and new technologies are added to enhance the shopping experience,” the company said in a news release.

H-E-B first launched Joe V’s Smart Shop in 2010 in Houston. It now operates nine stores with more than 1,500 employees.
H-E-B first launched Joe V’s Smart Shop in 2010 in Houston. It now operates nine stores with more than 1,500 employees.

H-E-B CEO Roxanne Orsak said in a news release that the company aims to build stronger communities through fresh products and jobs.

“With the introduction of Joe V’s Smart Shop to Dallas, we are excited to build on our longstanding presence in the area and commitment to serve more customers in this dynamic and growing part of Texas,” Orsak said in the release. “As a multi-format retailer, we have developed a variety of brands and formats to best serve our customers across the state.”

Announcements of new Joe V’s Smart Shops in Dallas fall in line with H-E-B’s overall expansion in North Texas.

H-E-B opened its first Frisco location on Sept. 20, 2022.
H-E-B opened its first Frisco location on Sept. 20, 2022.

H-E-B purchased land in Fort Worth in March at The Shops at Chisholm Trail Ranch in far south Fort Worth.

H-E-B began construction in November on an Alliance store in far north Fort Worth at Heritage Trace Parkway and North Riverside Drive. The H-E-B Alliance is expected to open in spring 2024.

The grocery chain broke ground on a Mansfield store in February. The store at U.S. 287 and Broad Street is also slated to open in 2024.

The San Antonio-based grocer has more than 400 locations in Texas and Mexico and achieved $34 billion in annual sales. It is the largest private employer in Texas with more than 145,000 employees across the state.