H-E-B begins construction on first North Texas location of Joe V’s Smart Shop

Matt Leclercq, Jenny Rudolph
·3 min read
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H-E-B broke ground Wednesday on its first of two Joe V’s Smart Shop low-price grocery stores coming to the Metroplex. This location will be the first Joe V’s outside of the Houston area.

Joe V’s Smart Shop is about half the size of a typical H-E-B but offers many of the same products that made the Texas-based chain so popular, including bakery tortillas, ready-made meals, fresh produce and more.

The first Joe V’s Smart Shop in North Texas will be at 4101 W. Wheatland Road in southwest Dallas, near the interchange of Interstate 20 and U.S. 67. The store is expected to open in late summer 2024.

H-E-B first revealed its plans in June for building Joe V’s Smart Shops in North Texas.

A second store will be in east Dallas on Buckner Boulevard, south of Interstate 30. That location at 5204 S. Buckner Blvd. will open in spring 2025.

H-E-B first launched Joe V’s Smart Shop in 2010 in Houston. It now operates 10 stores with about 2,000 employees in that market.

H-E-B will open new Joe V’s Smart Shop locations in 2024 and 2025.
H-E-B will open new Joe V’s Smart Shop locations in 2024 and 2025.

Joe V’s Smart Shop tailors its assortment of products to the local community. According to the company, the Dallas locations Joe V’s will have these products and services:

  • A large produce department with Texas-grown selections delivered daily and a wide assortment of fresh-cut, ready-to-serve fruits and vegetables.

  • Assortment of H-E-B brand products such as H-E-B Organics, Central Market, Hill Country Fare, as well as major national brands.

  • A wide variety of fresh in-store cut meat, chicken, and seafood options, including the $20 bundle boxes and Texas-sized Club Packs.

  • Bakery with store-made tortillas, bolillos, pastries and breads.

  • Sushiya with handmade sushi made in-store daily and an Asian grill with rice bowls, teriyaki and more.

  • H-E-B Meal Simple selection with fresh, convenient chef-inspired meals.

  • Expansive Latino cheese selection.

  • Grocery and general merchandise departments including dairy, frozen foods, seasonal items, cookware, small appliances and toys.

  • Nutritional supplements, medications, personal hygiene and baby essentials.

The Joe V’s stores are usually about 55,000 square feet with 150 employees, whereas the traditional H-E-B flagship store format is closer to 111,000 square feet and could employ hundreds of people. H-E-B expected to hire 700 full- and part-time employees for its McKinney H-E-B back in February.

H-E-B also operates the Central Market stores, including one in Fort Worth.

H-E-B first launched Joe V’s Smart Shop in 2010 in Houston. It now operates nine stores with more than 1,500 employees.
H-E-B first launched Joe V’s Smart Shop in 2010 in Houston. It now operates nine stores with more than 1,500 employees.

The expansion of Joe V’s Smart Shops in North Texas fall in line with H-E-B’s overall expansion in the Metroplex.

H-E-B opened its first Frisco location on Sept. 20, 2022.
H-E-B opened its first Frisco location on Sept. 20, 2022.

H-E-B purchased land in Fort Worth in March 2023 at The Shops at Chisholm Trail Ranch in far south Fort Worth, along Chisholm Trail Parkway and McPherson Boulevard. (That area also appears to be the site of a future Target store.)

H-E-B began construction in November on an Alliance store in far north Fort Worth at Heritage Trace Parkway and North Riverside Drive. The H-E-B Alliance is expected to open in spring 2024.

The grocery chain broke ground on a Mansfield store in February. The store at U.S. 287 and Broad Street is also slated to open in 2024.

The San Antonio-based grocer has more than 400 locations in Texas and Mexico and achieved $34 billion in annual sales. It is the largest private employer in Texas with more than 145,000 employees across the state.