Supermarket News

Supermarket chain H-E-B acquires site for its first store in Dallas

H-E-B is finally coming to Dallas.

H-E-B

Dallas is finally in line to get an H-E-B. According to a release, the Texas supermarket chain has purchased property in Dallas: a 10-acre site at the southeast corner of Hillcrest Road and LBJ Freeway.

H-E-B has been expanding its store network across the DFW Metroplex, but this represents the first commitment to opening a store within the city of Dallas.

The site is a nearly 10-acre property at the southeast corner of Hillcrest Road and LBJ Freeway, inside the loop in Dallas.

H-E-B Hillcrest and LBJ Freeway Future loxation of H-E-B at Hillcrest Road and I-635.newsroom.heb.com

Now that the purchase of the property is complete, H-E-B will work with neighbors and city officials on rezoning and planning efforts for the retailer’s preliminary plans to bring its first H-E-B format store in the city of Dallas to that site. Additional details will be shared as the project develops.

“While we have a lot of work to do, we look forward to connecting with our neighbors, the city, and community stakeholders to ensure we create a destination that best supports this community,” said Mabrie Jackson, Public Affairs Managing Director for H-E-B and Central Market. “This is the first step in a long process, and we hope to share more details with our neighbors soon.”

A subsidiary of H-E-B purchased the property. The terms of the purchase were not disclosed.

The store represents the fulfillment of a longtime desire from Dallas shoppers to get their own H-E-B, which until now had only opened or planned locations in a ring of suburbs that include:

Frisco, at the northeast corner of Legacy Drive and Main Street, which opened in September 2022
Plano, at the southwest corner of Preston Road and Spring Creek Parkway, which opened in November 2022
Allen, at 575 E. Exchange Pkwy., which opened in October 2023
Fort Worth Alliance, which opened in April 2024
McKinney, at the northeast corner of Custer Road and Eldorado Parkway, which opened in July 2023
Frisco, which opened at Hwy 380 and FM 423 in August 2024

Plus stores in the works, opening in 2025 including:

Melissa- Northeast Corner US 75 and Highway 121, which broke ground in January 2024
Prosper- Southeast corner Frontier Parkway and the Dallas North Tollway, which broke ground in April 2024
Rockwall- Southwest corner John King Boulevard and I30, which broke ground in June 2024
Irving - at I-635 and Olympus Boulevard in front of the former Fry’s electronics store, expected to open in late 2026

H-E-B has been in Dallas since 2001 when it opened its first high-end chain Central Market, which now has six locations in Dallas, Plano, Southlake, and Fort Worth. There's also finally progress on the long-awaited Central Market coming to Uptown Dallas in a former Albertson's store at 3524 McKinney Ave. at the corner of Lemmon Avenue, which has been closed since 2016.

Otherwise, their only Dallas County activity has been two Joe V’s Smart Shop by H-E-B stores, their concept with an "innovative' (cheaper) price format and more concise selection of items, both in the southern sector: Joe V’s Smart Shop by H-E-B Wheatland at 4101 W. Wheatland Rd., which opened in June 2024, and Joe V’s Smart Shop by H-E-B Buckner at 5204 S. Buckner Blvd., expected to open spring 2025. A third Joe V's location is also planned at State Highway 183 and Story Road in Irving.

openings supermarkets

Soul Food News

Dallas celebs are flocking to Soul Shack, new restaurant in Cedar Hill

Soul Shack

Fried chicken, mac & cheese, collards at Soul Shack.

Dallas has a new upscale soul food restaurant that originally hails from Chicago: Called Soul Shack, it’s in the former Turkey Leg King space at 305 W. FM 1382 #502, in the Hillside Village shopping center in Cedar Hill where it opened in late January.

Soul Shack was founded by owner Erik “Rico” Nance, an entrepreneur and veteran restaurateur, and is led by his business partners Theous Griffin and Ronald Edwards III, who serves as general manager. The original was a fast-casual concept in Chicago called Soul Shack Express, which is still open.

The Dallas location is a more ambitious effort, with a full-service restaurant, full bar, and swanky nightlife atmosphere. Nance had previously opened Mikkey's Retro Grill, a hip-hop themed burger restaurant, in Cedar Hill, which closed in late 2024.

"I felt like the city needed a cocktail lounge," he says.

The space boasts a 1920's jazz club atmosphere, with marble floors, circular black booths, chandeliers, crystal bead curtains, and tables topped with a newsprint design. There's a "Soul Shack" sign in white neon, and an Insta-friendly wall with flowers and photo collage of iconic Black artists and performers like Eddie Murphy and Diahann Carroll. They also host live music and DJs at night.

The menu is mostly Southern but with fusion twists: soul rolls (fried egg rolls) filled with jerk chicken, which is their signature dish; plus gumbo, collard greens, sweet potatoes, mac & cheese, lamb chops with a parmesan crust, oxtails, and beef short ribs in gravy.

Tranelle and Ron Edwards with Shaq O'Neal Shaq O'Neal (right) drops into Soul Shack.Soul Shack

"Soul Shack has been an offspring of the things that we've learned from our other restaurants," Nance says. "We're still in soft opening mode, but we've already taken off. We'll have a beautiful nightlife and older crowd."

They've quickly earned notice from celebrities including TikTok phenomenon Keith Lee, who touted them with a review in their first week open (giving it a high rating of 8 out of 10 on his scale); and more recently celebrity Shaquille "Shaq" O'Neal, who dropped in for a surprise visit, posing for a photo with Edwards and his wife, Tranelle.

"We had no idea, he just came in, made a reservation and said he'd heard the food was amazing," Nance says. "When he came in the door, we said, 'We're turning this into Soul Shaq.' We accommodated everything he wanted. I love that man and what he stands for, his philanthropy."

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