No, I am not talking about that castle with the talking mouse, duck with no pants, and soaring pachyderm. The location I am referring to is H-E-B. What is HEB? It is a grocery store. I know what you are thinking, "This gal is waxing eloquent about a supermarket? Does this place sell a life?!" No, it does not sell a life, but it does sell Life. HEB is a Texas-based company that was started by the Butt family (yes, that is their name) in Kerrville, Texas in 1905. Since then, HEB has expanded across Texas and even into Mexico. They are committed to serving Texas, both with the food in the store and in the community with camps for lower income families and supporting local events.
But what is it that makes HEB so great? First of all is the HEB brand food. Usually when you buy store-brand products, they can be a little sketchy. But I have yet to find an HEB product that is not comparable or better than a national brand product. For instance, HEB recently began producing their own fresh pastas that include ravioli, tortellini, long pastas, and short pastas, along with sauces. The bakery also has begun to make their own breads, both loaf and artisan, as well as tortillas, all of which are in my shopping cart.
Another great thing about HEB is its produce. HEB strives to attain whatever in-state produce it can get its hands on. This not only helps the Texas farmers, but also means HEB customers can get fruit and veggies that have not spent a week on a semi being shipped from Florida or California. Every time I go this summer, I can get Texas peaches, blueberries, ruby grapefruits, and other produce. The meat and seafood department is also great, especially the butchers and fish mongers. They know what they sell, and will readily suggest ways of cooking, marinating, or grilling whatever it is you want to buy. This is how I ended up with some steelhead trout when I intended to get tilapia.
However, the best part about HEB has to be the people. The people who work at HEB are perhaps the best service people I have ever encountered. They greet you with a smile and are willing to stop what they are doing to help you look for oyster sauce or rice noodles. They are committed to quality. If you notice you put the wrong kind of croutons in your basket, they will run to replace it with the right kind. If you have a passel of children with you, they will grab an extra cart and shop with you if it helps you at all. Every single time they are done bagging my groceries they ask if I need help to the car. This is in no way insulting or degrading to me, they just want to make sure my shopping experience continues to be enjoyable after I exit. Even the security guys standing at the doors are great. They cheerily wave and say "Have a nice day" or "See you soon" when I leave.
I contend that no grocery store is worth going to if you cannot leave happier than when you came. And HEB does that for me. They have everything I want from Kashi cereal to bulk Brazil nuts, freestone peaches to stuffed portobello mushrooms, and they are committed to helping their customers out in whatever capacity. So, that is why I heart HEB.
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