HOUSTON – (By Michelle Leigh Smith for Realty News Report) – Though the ultra-modern Meyerland Market H-E-B was scheduled to open Wednesday, its parking lot was already humming Sunday morning as staff arrived for early training sessions.
Employees were greeted by bright smiles and cheerful artwork: a wall of playful paintings featuring owls in party hats, llamas in red scarves and a giraffe adorned with fruit. The store’s welcoming atmosphere reflects H-E-B’s effort to tailor design and décor to each neighborhood’s personality.
The architect emphasized openness and approachable retail design. Shoppers are welcomed by fragrant white phalaenopsis orchids and seating clustered around The Roastery coffee bar. Rather than relying on novelty bag copy like other grocers, H-E-B has cultivated a reputation for whimsical, community-focused décor. That approach continues a local arts initiative started at Bellaire Market, which introduced a permanent interactive light installation called Blue by You by Texas artist Ansen Seale. Going forward, H-E-B’s multi-level Houston locations will commission site-specific artworks to add a distinctive, engaging element to each store.
The new Meyerland store is also a symbol of neighborhood recovery following Hurricane Harvey in 2017, which flooded hundreds of homes and businesses and damaged four local synagogues.
Located on the northwest corner of Meyerland Plaza, the H-E-B anchors the 950,000-square-foot shopping center. Meyerland Plaza is owned by a partnership led by Bellaire-based Fidelis Realty Partners, headed by Alan Hassenflu, together with BlackRock Realty Advisors of New York.
The center has felt the effects of the national retail shakeout, with recent closures including Pier 1 Imports and Bed Bath & Beyond. H-E-B’s arrival is expected to bring new vitality and traffic to Meyerland Plaza.
The two-story, 95,000-square-foot Meyerland Market at 4955 Beechnut at Loop 610 is 20,000 square feet larger than the nearby H-E-B Bellaire Market on Bissonnet and Cedar, and about five times the size of the former H-E-B Pantry on South Braeswood, which closed after suffering severe Harvey-related damage.
A covered, two-level parking garage with 712 spaces includes elevators and escalators to simplify trips between vehicle and store entrance.
Responding to strong local demand, the store carries an extensive selection of certified kosher products prepared on-site and overseen by a full-time mashgiach. More than 800 kosher brands will help fill the void left by the recent closure of Belden’s, a kosher-friendly grocer that operated on North Braeswood in the heart of Houston’s Jewish community.
“I will shop there,” said Ali Khalife, co-owner of nearby Fadi’s restaurant. “There’s a lot of hype for the new store and I think it will bring in more traffic for neighboring businesses like mine. A large portion of my clientele is Jewish and I know they are very excited about it.”
Hugh Sintic, manager of the new location, told the Bellaire Business Association that the store will offer H-E-B’s usual assortment alongside a broad kosher program: a dedicated bakery and butcher, kosher sandwiches and a coffee shop, and stocked sections for kosher frozen foods, seafood and dairy.
“We tried to bring everything together so that you can get all of your kosher products in one place,” Sintic said. To better understand Orthodox kosher practices, he and his wife spent a week in New York consulting rabbis and living according to kosher guidelines, including sleeping in separate beds, so he could ensure the store’s offerings met authentic requirements.
H-E-B also consulted with the local Chabad House and expert Levi Donin on kosher standards.
The two-story building sits adjacent to JCPenney and connects to it via a second-floor pedestrian bridge, which some JCPenney employees have already begun using.
H-E-B is hiring many former Belden’s employees to staff the new location, Sintic said.
An invitation-only community preview will serve as the official ribbon-cutting event before the store opens to the public on Wednesday. H-E-B executives and store leaders will be on-site during the preview to answer questions about departments, products and services.
H-E-B Meyerland Market follows recent H-E-B openings in the Houston area. In mid-December 2019 H-E-B opened a 90,000-square-foot store on N. MacGregor Way and Highway 288, replacing an older Third Ward location; that MacGregor store includes a drive-through pharmacy, curbside pickup and a scratch bakery. In October 2019 a 96,000-square-foot H-E-B opened in Buffalo Heights, anchoring a mixed-use midrise project and marking another entry for H-E-B into integrated developments.
This Meyerland store is the first grocery-focused tenant at Meyerland Plaza since Henke & Pillot left in the mid-1960s. Kroger retired the Henke & Pillot name decades ago; more recently, Meyerland Plaza’s Target offered grocery items from its own footprint.
Jan. 27, 2020 Realty News Report Copyright 2020
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