Supermarket News

H-E-B breaks ground on newest Dallas-area supermarket in McKinney

Everyone loves H-E-B.

Photo courtesy of H-E-B

McKinney wins the supermarket lottery with a new new H-E-B store, coming to the northeast corner of Custer Road and Eldorado Parkway.

H-E-B management joined McKinney Mayor George Fuller and other local officials on March 3 to break ground on the new store, which is slated to open in late 2023.

In a release, Fuller called it "an exciting day for our community as we break ground on this highly-anticipated store."

Local schools took part in the ceremony including a presentation of the colors by McKinney High School's MCJROTC, and a performance by the McKinney Boyd High School Jazz Ensemble, led by Vanessa Santamaria, associate director of bands.

This makes the third H-E-B store currently under construction in the DFW area, all north of Dallas.

Two stores have already been announced to open in fall 2022:

Frisco, at the northeast corner of Legacy Drive and Main Street
Plano, at the southwest corner of Preston Road and Spring Creek Parkway

The company held groundbreakings for those two locations in June 2021; they're masters of fanfare.

The McKinney store's exterior design will have a modern, distinctive character that integrates into the community, with a tree preserve located between the store and residential neighbors to provide a buffer and privacy.

Distinct features will include:

large dedicated curbside zone at the back of the store
fuel station with car wash
Pharmacy drive-thru
True Texas BBQ, H-E-B’s lauded barbecue restaurant

To mark the opening, H-E-B will also donate $10,000 to each of the following nonprofit organizations: Seed Project Foundation, Community Garden Kitchen, Love Life Foundation, Hugs Café, and City Church.

Based in San Antonio, H-E-B operates over 420 stores in Texas and Mexico., and is celebrating its 117th anniversary this year.

H-E-B has a strong DFW presence via its Central Market stores, which debuted in the Dallas area in 2001, now with four locations in Dallas, Plano, Southlake, and Fort Worth.

There are also H-E-B stores in some surrounding towns including Burleson, Hudson Oaks, Granbury, and Waxahachie.

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Escargot News

New all-day French bistro in downtown Rockwall is all from scratch

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Belle View Bistro Rockwall

An all-day French bistro has made its debut in Rockwall: Called Belle Vie Bistro, it’s a new mom-and-pop in the charming historic downtown district, at 112 E. Rusk St., the former home of The Fatted Calf restaurant, where it opened its doors on November 12.

Belle Vie is from Luis and Iliana Marquez, a hard-working couple who also own Los Marquez, a popular taco--themed food-truck-turned-restaurant in Rockwall they first debuted in 2019. In May, the couple took over the former Fat Chicken space to open a brick and mortar location of Los Marquez, where they serve well-made Mexican food like tacos, burritos, and quesadillas, but also burgers & fries. They open for breakfast with breakfast tacos, and run a daily lunch special, often creative, always popular, such as birria ramen with choice of beef or lamb for $11.

But the couple had a bigger vision of creating a place where chef Luis could stretch and showcase his skills.

"Luis has a lot of culinary experience, and it’s something that he’s been putting aside,” Iliana says. “We were just waiting on the perfect time to bring this to life.”

"This is something exciting and new for us, it’s something that we always wanted to make,” Luis says.

Like Los Marquez, Belle Vie is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, serving classics like French onion soup, moules frites, escargot, and duck confit. There are also comforting and American dishes like spinach-artichoke dip, crab cakes, and fish & chips.

Lunch features Cobb salad, a French dip, and chicken & Brie panini, while an extended breakfast -- which runs from 7 am to 4 pm — includes pancakes, waffles, eggs benedict, beignets French toast, and crepes, plus pastries and breads made from scratch.

Mural on the wall at Belle Vie Bistro RockwallFacebook

The bakery counter is a delight, with eclairs, croissants, scones, fruit tarts, and cake slices in flavors like carrot cake and white chocolate raspberry. There's also a serious coffee program with espresso drinks such as lattes.

"We pride ourselves on making everything from scratch," the duo says. "Our bread—whether for sandwiches, paninis, hamburgers or anything listed on our menu is made fresh just for us by our incredibly talented pastry chef and baker. The same care goes into our pastries and desserts ensuring every bite is special and crafted with love."

The dining room is warm and cozy with dark wood chairs and plush booths and a full-wall mural depicting a street in Paris. They also have a full bar, with cocktails and beer on tap. Prices are reasonable, ranging from $9 for a Belgian waffle during breakfast to $45 for prime ribeye at dinner.

For now, they're not taking reservations — it's first come, first serve.

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