When H-E-B set out to renovate their North Lamar Boulevard and Rundberg Lane store, they assessed the demographics of the area and decided it was the perfect spot to bring their Hispanic-influenced Mi Tienda concept (“my store” in Spanish) to Austin.

The remodeling for the project cost $7 million and brought 6,000 additional square feet and 40 new employees to the store. With an in-store masa factory, tortilla press, imported Mexican cheese and meats, fresh cremas and salsas and an assortment of Mexican pastries, the food options are abundant. Customers can find everything they need to make the traditional Latino dishes they grew up with - or wished they did.

H-E-B spokeswoman Leslie Sweet spoke to The Statesman about catering to the Latino demographic: "They wanted more things that remind them of home," Sweet said. "For example, we made a move from a traditional meat market to a carniceria, which has more seasoned meats than you traditionally find. It's more reminiscent of this customer, what they and their families have been making in Texas in past generations."

H-E-B is the dominant grocer in Central Texas. The San Antonio-based H-E-B has more over 320 stores in Texas and Mexico and more than 75,000 employees. They first introduced Mi Tienda in Houston with great success before coming to Austin, but H-E-B officials have not decided yet where to go next with their Mi Tienda model.

"With H-E-B, you never know," Sweet told The Statesman. "We keep pushing the limit to what we can do. You can't look at any certain store and say, 'That's what you expect an H-E-B to look like.' We keep changing it up."

Image via HEB.com.

Filed in Food and tagged H-E-B, Openings, Supermarket

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