Locals call out glaring gap in H-E-B's hometown footprint. Here's where

This video created with the assistance of AI.

While Texas' favorite grocer may be expanding its footprint, there are stretches of its hometown that still feel left behind. And while demand continues to grow, with industrial, commercial and residential sprawl hitting the Southside, H-E-B still has no plans to confirm a new location in the underserved section of the Alamo City.

The calls for a new Southside H-E-B have gone on for years. When MySA reached out to residents to ask how the produce scarcity south of Loop 410 affects locals, something surprising became clear: Many residents don't know the Southside extends beyond Loop 410.

Yes, there are a few H-E-B locations south of downtown, but they are still magnetized toward the city center and cluster 4 or 5 miles north of Loop 410. Beyond that circular boundary, the stores stop. This, it turns out, has left a large chunk of San Antonio residents planning their trips with precision, turning what may be a weekly or even daily errand into a biweekly event.

"I live on the SE side of town and have to make a 20 [to] 30 minute drive to get to the store. I refuse to buy groceries from Dollar General," Kathy Smith told MySA, describing a selection that didn't meet H-E-B's typical standards. "We need an H-E-B or something similar to here on this side of town. It is growing."

Smith, however, is fighting an uphill battle. For those further south, where public officials and frustrated citizens have declared a food desert, a Dollar General or eating out were common ways to cope with the lack of fresh options.

It takes Mariah Ashely roughly 20 to 30 minutes to reach her nearest H-E-B or Walmart. Otherwise, she says she's stuck hoping Dollar General has something comparable.

"Due to the gas cost, we have to plan ahead. We have to purchase more at one time so we don't have to go to the store every other day," Ashely told MySA. "We rely on other people sometimes we who know [are] ‘headed into town.' On the way home, there's risk of frozen food defrosting. We can't get delivery using Walmart Spark or H-E-B Favor. We need a pharmacy out here too."

District 3 Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran –– who represents the Southeast Side of San Antonio, which extends beyond Loop 1604 –– said she's trying to explain to grocery companies that their metrics may not adequately account for the business opportunity south of Loop 410.

"We're trying to communicate with them that things are coming up, and they're coming up fast – especially in the Brooks area and out over by Missions Del Lago. We have multifamily coming in where Brooks is at, and we have the single-family coming over … by Mission Del Lago," Viagran told MySA.

She says the house-count metric grocers often use to justify opening new stores may not apply to stretches of her district where multiple generations live in a single-family home. When restaurants in her region –– such as Cheddar's, Olive Garden and Texas Roadhouse –– are thriving, she says grocery chains are missing out on a business opportunity.

Alas, H-E-B has yet to confirm plans for a store beyond Loop 410 – where many Northsiders and inner-city San Antonio residents believe the housing ends.

"At H-E-B, we are continuously looking for a new site locations to best serve our communities," an H-E-B spokesperson told MySA when asked if they owned any land in this area or had plans to build a store. "While we do own land in this area, we currently do not have plans to share at this time."

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