San Antonio-based H-E-B is following through on plans for a grocery store in Hudson Oaks, first announced nearly four years ago.

The store will open in 2019.

The company said Monday it will build a supermarket at U.S. 180 and Lakeshore Drive. Hudson Oaks, just north of Interstate 20 between Weatherford and Fort Worth. It will be the supermarket’s eighth location in North Texas.

“The Hudson Oaks community has approached H-E-B about building a store for a number of years,” Jeff Thomas, senior vice president and general manager of H-E-B’s central region, said in a statement. “We are excited to fulfill that request for residents and look forward to adding an additional store to our network across North Texas.”

“This location will not only provide the community with fantastic offerings but will also bring continued growth opportunities for our H-E-B employees and add operational efficiencies to our North Texas network of stores,” Thomas said.

The grocery store will be near the Walsh residential development in west Fort Worth.

The Hudson Oaks store is being designed, and specifics about the store are not available, said Mabrie Jackson, an H-E-B spokeswoman.

“We will share that with the community of Hudson Oaks as it becomes available,” Jackson said.

H-E-B has stores in Burleson, Granbury, Cleburne, Ennis, Waxahachie, Stephenville and Corsicana. H-E-B also operates its Central Market chain of stores in Fort Worth and Southlake.

In 2016, the Mansfield City Council approved a zoning change at the southeast corner of East Broad Street and U.S. 287 that will allow H-E-B to build a supermarket there. The store will be 80,000 to 106,000 square feet, according to plans filed with Mansfield. No additional details have been released on the location.

The grocer has been buying parcels of land in Tarrant County in recent years. Among the latest is a 17.8-acre track at the northeast corner of Cheek-Sparger Road and Heritage Avenue in the Glade Parks development in Euless. H-E-B also has 18.2 acres at the southeast corner of U.S. 287 and Bond Ranch Road in north Fort Worth.

Other land holdings are off Quail Valley Drive and North Tarrant Parkway; at Boat Club and Bailey-Boswell roads near Eagle Mountain Lake; and off Lake Ridge Parkway in Grand Prairie.

At one time, H-E-B considered a store on Rosedale Street in Fort Worth and attempted to rezone property for it. Those plans were dropped in 2013.

“H-E-B is also aware and thankful for the H-E-B fans in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex that are anxiously awaiting our entry into that market,” Jackson said. “Our interest remains in evaluating the DFW market for the H-E-B format of stores, but there are no current plans to enter at this time. Central Market continues to be our primary format and growth vehicle of DFW.”

H-E-B, with sales of more than $24.6 billion, operates more than 390 stores in Texas and Mexico. The grocer employs more than 106,000 people.

Fort Worth Star Telegram, by Sandra Baker, December 18, 2017 | View Original Article