Some comments I’ve seen: it’s pretty much windowless, there’s no Cafe on the Run as many recent new HEB’s have had, it’s a pretty ordinary store. Hah! Surprise!
There was so little hoopla I thought I’d take a chance since I do need some things that I can only get at HEB. NOPE! Back side of the store, along Spruce, cars lined up in both directions trying to get into the garage, and not moving much; fortunately I could squeeze through between the lanes of traffic. There’s street parking along that street and it was full. Bissonnet, short stretch between Rice and Cedar - traffic cop directing traffic in and out. A line waiting. Further on out Cedar - cars backing up to get into the garage.
I pass. I won’t starve. Bellaire may have to take up consideration of widening Bissonnet along there.
The Meyerland store, when it opens late next year, may make this look like a picnic.
Yeah, it’s free. On the second level (out in the open it should be noted) apparently you walk into the store like you would any store. There’s an ‘escalator’ for carts (and people, I presume).
I imagine drivers in the garage were circling around and around, trying to figure out how to park as close to the escalators as possible. Given how Houston drivers adapted to light rail a few years back I expected to see a line of tow trucks waiting to haul cars off.
It’s the closest HEB to me so I’ll have to give it a try. Fortunately I can shop before noon on weekdays which is usually a pretty quiet time at grocery stores around me.
I dood it! I survived the Bellaire HEB, store and parking garage! I want a t-shirt, or at least a sticker to put on my shirt .
Actually, it wasn’t that bad. I went about 10:30 this am, later than I intended. There was a steady stream into the main garage entrance on Bissonnet but it wasn’t backed up. That may not be the best entrance to use - if you turn right, there’s only a smallish parking area (and the ramp to the open parking on the roof). I don’t know if you can turn left there but I had to circle that small area and head to the other end of the garage. There was plenty of space today but the garage is really not that large and a lot of space is taken up by the driveways, drive-thru lanes (2) and the downstairs lobby itself. But you’ll always be closer to the downstairs lobby in the garage here than you may find yourself at Central Market, where I sometimes have to park almost all the way to Weslayan and hoof it.
There are carts available in the downstairs lobby but if you pick up your cart there you’ll have to use the elevators (3) to get upstairs; there isn’t a cart escalator going up. There are carts at the top of the people escalator. The smaller sized carts are about half the size of the full sized carts, bigger than any others I’ve seen. I liked that. The upstairs entrance to the store from the roof parking is right at the top of the escalators.
The store was busy but not packed. It’s huge, much bigger feeling than the Buffalo Speedway store which has become my favorite just because it is more compact. I noted especially tons of organic fruits and veggies and dry-aged prime beef but there was just too much to take in on one visit. I spent 55 minutes wandering the store, much more time than I usually take on a grocery shopping trip. I thought the frozen food section was smaller than either the Buffalo Speedway store, Montrose or Sugar Land Market. That surprises me; maybe I missed some elsewhere??? One of my gripes about HEB has been how much space is devoted to their Hill Country Fare and other store brands - only TJ’s and Aldi, I think, push their store brands more. It seemed to me that was not as evident here as it was at my old Meyerland store. I like that.
There was an employee at the top of the cart escalator to make sure the carts were correctly engaged; I wonder if there’ll always be someone there? There are plastic shields to prevent someone from putting a cart on the device with a kid in the kid’s seat. The cart escalator is significantly slower than the people escalator right next to it.
My only problem came upon exiting. Not realizing the lobby has exits on both sides I wandered out into the wrong end of the garage and walked all over for several minutes trying to find my car before it hit me. Hopefully that won’t happen again.
You’ve seen those castles in Bellaire, those people don’t eat frozen foods, just organic produce, prime meats, and fresh seafood. I bet you can’t find a can of Sloppy Joe sauce in the store.
Hey, you didn’t mention seafood, that’s the first place I go. I wonder if they jack up the prices on meat and seafood the way Central Market does.
Only 55 minutes, that’s a grab and go for the Wifeacita. You almost had me ready to go but the parking garage is a deal killer.
I’m still mad they flattened Hong Kong Chef for the store.
You may have nailed it on the frozen foods section, JC!
Too much to take in - I only glanced at the seafood counter. It is manned and I think larger than the one at Montrose, for whatever that’s worth. I didn’t dare look at the prices on the dry-aging prime beef, or any of the other prime beef for that matter. BTW, I’ve never seen that at Montrose or Buffalo Speedway but maybe I’ve just missed it.
Hey, Buffalo Market serves River Oaks and WUP and Montrose ain’t a hippie neighborhood, any more. I still kick myself for not buying the bungalow I was renting there in the early 70s; it’s still standing. I have a friend off Studewood in the Heights, he bought his house in the 50s for $52K; it’s now appraised over $2.5M he claims.
The garage is a big plus for me. Really the size was a pleasant surprise and with open spaces all around, it’s plenty bright and airy during the day and I’d imagine very well lit at night.
But just think, while you’re inside shopping (and scarfing up the free samples - there were several demos going on), your car is not sitting out in the sun turning into a pizza oven. And when it’s raining cats and dogs … Well, you get the idea.
The logistics just don’t work for us. Sunday morning is HEB day for the Wifeacita and in fact I’ve been banned from MY HEB on Sundays, you heard right banned from MY OWN HEB.
….and now for the rest of the story. We’d go on Sundays and I’d read my book while she slowly navigated the aisles. She likes to get there early and I can never get ready in time hence the banishment, from her.
There’s no way she driving to an unfamiliar HEB in Bellaire but I do see us doing a sight seeing tour mid-day when we both have vacation in the fall.
Yeah, I know it’d be a long trek for you. And probably considerably more of a hassle to deal with on a Sunday than what I experienced this morning. Ah, the rewards of a lifetime - I’m retired and can go early in the morning on weekdays when there’s almost never a crowd anywhere.
I shop for one and have long preferred short trips; almost never have too much in the cart to use self-scan or Express lanes, and I like to shop different stores for different things.
I may have to become more of one of those who goes much less often and gets the cart so heavy it can barely be pushed around!
She’ll still be doing her Sunday Bunker Hill thing but Bellaire will be going during a weekday.
I’m eligible for retirement soon but can’t get on the Wifeacita’s insurance until next spring.
Maybe we can get together for lunch one day and discuss medical ailments and other geezerly things like insurance.
I grew up in Sharpstown and suggest the dollar sliced beef sandwiches at Massey’s or Henry’s on Bissonnet. Oops, just realized they’ve both been closed for well over thirty years. I’m sure you can come up with something else.
Took another trip to the new store. I do like the covered parking. OMG! I’m becoming an HEB Groupie!
Well, I just need to get a couple of things I left off my first list and look for some things on the list that got overlooked with all the gawking.
So @jcostiones, I think the seafood counter is bigger than the one at the Montrose store - of course, you’ve probably never been to the Montrose store so that doesn’t mean much, eh? Whole red snapper - $6.97, a variety of sizes available. Filleted, $22.97. Red Snapper was the only whole fish on display, every thing else is fillets. Argentinian Red Shrimp, shell on, jumbo?, $4.97/lb. Is ARS any good??? I don’t think I’ve ever bought any. I haven’t gotten my circulars for this week yet; they’ve been coming on Fridays. Last week I got a separate circular for this store and also one for the other 3 HEB’s that they consider to be convenient to me - Beechnut @ BW 8, Bellaire @ 6 and the old Gulfgate mall area.
No prices on the dry-aged beef. I guess if you have to ask…
I spent 40 minutes in the store, only bought 9 items but was still doing a lot of browsing and trying to find things. Got behind a woman in the express lane with a full sized basket, loaded to overflowing. She was mostly already checked out but the sacker was taking forever and the lady wanted to talk, anyway. Unfortunately, so did the checker. GRRRR.
Parking garage in and out very simple and quick. I exited on Cedar and went west - the strip centers west of the new store are all being or have been modernized; one may be completely new. No doubt the store is having an effect on retail in the neighborhood; likely also will impact home-prices.
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