But this story[0] is the one that I think sums up the love people have for HEB pretty well. During the 2021 "Great Texas Freeze" [1] (where 4+million homes went without power for days, 10+million without safe drinking water and 200+ died); basically during a rush to stock up on food, the power went out at an HEB and they couldnt check anyone out, but instead of telling everyone to leave their carts and exit to go home without food, they let them all to walk out with whatever they had in their carts.

It's unfortunate that more big businesses don't even try to be a net positive the way HEB does. (some seem to be actively hostile to the idea)

[0] https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/09/us/texas-storm-recovery-heb-g...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Texas_power_crisis

The history of HEB is something I want to learn about. I know from reading Robert Caros LBJ volumes that Howard Butt was funneling a lot of money to LBJ staring in the 30s or 40s. Not to judge that, I’m just curious how they dominated Texas.

HEB believes that if you treat your employees right, that they will in turn treat their customers well.

As someone that has spent years living away from HEB they are just a great store to have access to. Better prices, store brands that are often better than national, and they usually have a good produce selection. When we moved to the San Antonio area a decade ago, having access to HEB again was one of the most exciting parts of the move.

Wal-Mart is the opposite. I go in to buy groceries and am always astonished to have my trip be like for $27 or something. I usually shop from the outside of the grocery (raw produce) and they are just dirt cheap.

HEB operates a series of upscale Central Market stores that are even more lopsided in price and even more interesting in selection.

Literally if you are willing to work they will hire you. Alot of my family and friends have started their careers here and they love it.

Unsurprisingly the way they treat employees also means that the talent pool in corporate is excellent. Employees are very invested in the company's future.

I could go on but yes they are good.

When I’ve been to HEB I see plenty of cashier lanes open, each with a cashier and bagger, people stocking aisles, a team behind the butcher and bakery counters, etc.

By comparison, Kroger seems to try and have a skeleton crew at all times. Usually a single cashier, a self checkout supervisor, and a couple of people frantically stocking.

The Kroger employees look over worked and clearly unhappy to be there.

The HEB employees seem generally happy and are usually in groups chatting with coworkers and customers while they work.

Shopping at Kroger feels almost dystopian relative to HEB.

Seriously though, I prefer many things there: recycled toilet paper/paper towels, pet food (their quality line, not the cheap stuff), and even their to-go sushi are all among my favorites in those categories. For beer drinkers, they actually have an impressive craft selection.

So while I still admire HEB and choose it over anything else, it's on its way down in terms of quality and value.

Haven't been to Central Market (their high end brand) in a while, but it's night and day compared to HEB.

HEB and their upscale Central Market are the only grocery stores that we visit. We do drop by World Market occasionally for oddball things but if we don't grow it and HEB/CM doesn't sell it we probably aren't eating it.

I think one of the best things about the new HEBs is the attached BBQ store. Dependably good BBQ options with a Central Texas BBQ flavor that beat all of the fast food options locally. We have a wide selection of fast foods since this region is in a massive growth stage absorbing all the FtW refugees. HEB BBQ and the other fresh meals available inside that take little or no prep are dependable, flavorful, options for quick meals and picnics.

Locally we have Walmart, Target, Albertsons, Brookshires, Winn Dixie(?), Aldi, and maybe a couple other smaller ones including some Dollar (G/T) stores for groceries. Walmart is the only one that offers similar options but the quality of their fresh stuff can't measure up. Albertsons was the go-to for years if we had to swing into town for groceries and didn't feel like adding the extra commute to FtW Central Market. We stopped going there after we took a rafting trip down the Salmon in Idaho and rounded a curve in the river and found a large vacation home built right up on the bank complete with a concrete boat ramp. The river guide told us the house was a vacation home owned by the Albertsons grocery store family and that it was vacant most of the year. The concrete ramp is not allowed on any stretch of the river since it is in a Wild and Scenic area but it was built anyway because the sanction for building the ramp was a simple annual fine, easily affordable for billionaire grocers. We had rafted that river several times over the years and the encroachment of second homes and vacation homes on all the high spots up there really degrades the wilderness feel.

I'm not going too far down that trail today since that is too far OT.

If you're in Texas, HEB is the grocery store. The others suck balls.

I'm currently in Dallas, and annoyingly there is no HEB within a reasonable distance, though they have finally started opening stores in the DFW metro area. Just none in central Dallas, yet. They do just about everything right. Their lower bound on quality for stuff like produce is higher than most stores, their store brands are usually higher quality than the big brands (real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, fewer unpronounceable ingredients, etc., and often simply taste better). Their employees seem more invested in it being a good shopping experience, and I hope that means they're treated well.

Anyway, it's earned loyalty. It's not just a "well, it's been here for a long time and it's what I'm used to".

HEB is a fantastically ran store, but the quality of many of the goods tends to suffer relative to competition. Things like chicken broth that isn't fake can only be found at the gigantic, brand-new HEB 30 miles away (or at any Kroger). The local HEB built a decade ago seems to be somewhat forgotten by corporate.

I'll never forget that they were one of the first on site after the recent flooding in South Texas to feed first responders and employees paid to volunteer in the search party, they provided food at no cost when their stores lost power to thousands of households during Snowpocalypse and worked tirelessly to restock and restore power via generator to ensure folks could get what they needed even as the city went dark, and during Katrina they set up mobile kitchens and kept them stocked to feed emergency workers and storm refugees throughout the Houston metro area, as well as many many many other examples of them stepping up when our own state government has failed us.

As someone who's lived in Texas off an on for more than two decades and lives here now, I would trust HEB ten times before I'd trust anyone in the state government here.

Two constants in Texas: HEB and Waffle House.

Sweden: The dominant one is called ICA. Shared brand and supply chain. Stores are locally owned, typically 1, maybe 2 stores per owner. Store owners own a share of the centralized aspects. Customers generally prefer it, except for those on the (quite) left. It often becomes a political charged debate topic on a national level.

People do seem to at least eventually understand that local ownership is good since it translates into caring.

The charges from the left: a) Possibly valid: They have gotten too good/dominant, b) Just stupid: "They are ripping people off with their 2% profit margins".

(/s)

> ... in this company’s nearly 120-year history, it’s remained family-owned and operated.

It has been more than a century since the American legal system told publicly-owned companies "Don't Be Good"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_v._Ford_Motor_Co.