A Peek Inside H-E-B’s Magnificent Meyerland Store in Houston
By Jennifer Strailey on Mar. 30, 2020H-E-B is back and better than ever. After Hurricane Harvey destroyed its store in the Braeswood neighborhood of Houston in 2017, the tenacious Texas retailer, which has been crowned WGB’s 2020 Grocery Business of the Year, was determined to rebuild in the community it had served for a quarter-century.
The H-E-B Meyerland Market at 4955 Beechnut St. in Houston, which opened Jan. 29, delivers a truly elevated shopping experience. With expanded and covered parking in a two-level garage equipped with elevators and escalators to ease shopper navigation to and from the car, the new 95,000-square-foot store offers a signature mix of freshness, authenticity and convenience at affordable prices. “Meyerland has been good to us,” Martha Araujo-Barrera, H-E-B’s public affairs manager, told Houston Public Media in the wake of Harvey’s aftermath. “We’ve been there for 25 years. A lot of people know we rebuilt after the Memorial Day [2017] floods, and this time around, it’s just not possible.”
While extensive flooding at the Braeswood store prohibited restoration, it didn’t hinder H-E-B’s enthusiasm to mint a new Meyerland store designed to exceed the expectations of its longtime and loyal customers in the historically Jewish neighborhood. “This store will offer products from all over the world with a strong emphasis on our kosher customer,” says Hugh Sintic, general manager of H-E-B Meyerland Market. “It’s an honor to bring this community the options it deserves.”
A Kosher Kitchen
Meyerland Market is stocked with an expansive selection of certified kosher items produced in-store and approved by H-E-B’s full-time mashgiach, an on-site inspector who ensures the food adheres to kosher rules and standards. Whether it’s the store’s kosher coffee and sandwich bar provided by The Roastery, kosher sushi selections, kosher custom cuts from the fresh meat market or its destination kosher bakery featuring a selection of kosher cakes, breads, bagels and tortillas, Meyerland is brimming with choices.
“This store is a one-stop shop not only for healthy food choices but also kosher needs,” says H-E-B Manager Levy Donin. “This community has gone through so much, and it’s a privilege to be a part of its healing and rebuilding.”
Curbside Convenience and More
Designed to meet the needs of customers where and how they shop, Meyerland Market goes the extra mile with its dynamic in-store experience; easy online ordering and home delivery; convenient Curbside Pickup; and quick and delicious grab-and-go meal selections.
Chef-inspired cuisine is always on the menu at H-E-B Meyerland Market, which offers the full line of its popular H-E-B Meal Simple heat-and-eat options. Created with quality ingredients, these family favorites are fresh, convenient and easy for streamlining a home-cooked meal. With more than 50 oven-ready options that range from Chicken Tortilla Soup to Simple Garlic Pesto Atlantic Salmon With Asparagus, each dish is packed with flavor and can be ready in minutes.
H-E-B’s Curbside and Home Delivery makes shopping on the go more convenient than ever with the new and improved My H-E-B app. H-E-B’s personal shoppers hand-pick shoppers’ grocery selections and deliver them curbside or at their doorstep at the scheduled time.
Healthy Eating on a Budget
Striving to be a source for quality living and healthy eating on a budget, Meyerland Market features 1,500 H-E-B Organics products throughout the store, from the produce aisles and fresh meat market to the frozen department and grocery shelves.
Its fully stocked Healthy Living department includes bulk foods such as honey, nuts, grains, dried fruits, snack mixes, a wide variety of supplements and more. A full-service pharmacy on the first floor offers drive-thru access.
H-E-B’s Fresh Meat Market features natural and prime cuts of meat in addition to a wide assortment of seasoned meats that are ready for the grill, as well as fully cooked, meatless and kosher selections.
A full-service seafood department makes a splash with 28 linear feet of fresh fish and seafood flown in daily. Fresh sushi and poke bowls are handmade in-store daily by Sushiya.
Lone Star Lifestyle
There’s no question that H-E-B Meyerland Market knows how to throw a memorable party as much as it knows how to celebrate the everyday. For starters, the store features a wine and beer department with 2,000 SKUs, 195 feet of wine, 12 feet of kosher options and a variety of beers, with an emphasis on Texas craft and hyperlocal craft. A dedicated wine manager is on duty and ready to make the perfect pairing recommendation.
Meyerland’s full-service scratch bakery and tortilleria highlight a wide selection of organic and artisanal breads baked daily, fresh tortillas and tempting varieties of decadent desserts, pastries and custom cakes.
The flower power is also on point in the store’s floral department, where the talented staff is ready to offer the perfect arrangement for every occasion, including intimate dinners, family celebrations, remembrances and everyday moments.
Meanwhile, Meyerland’s Cooking Connection and Showtime Kitchen inspire legions of Lone Star State shoppers with live demonstrations and daily samplings using quick and easy recipes that can be replicated at home.
H-E-B Takes a Walk on the Wild Side
As with H-E-B Houston openings at Buffalo Heights, Bellaire Market and The Heights, the company continues its creative and colorful arts initiative at Meyerland Market with a permanent installation by Heather Gauthier. It consists of a series of six grocery and food-themed animal portraits: “Snack Solutions,” which features a giraffe; owls as “Party Animals”; a bull as the “Host With the Most”; “Floral Felines”; “Speedy Shopper,” represented by a cheetah; and “Employees of the Month” depicted as llamas.