What's with the lack of grocery chains? (San Antonio, Kerrville: houses, buy)

[team_evans]

Just curious--been here in Corpus for a few months and no one has been able to explain why a city of this size only has two grocery chains....? I don't shop at WalMart (at all, ever), so it's a good thing I like HEB, but I'd also kinda like to have some other options, some competitive price pressure, etc. Why haven't any other chains set up shop here?

[diablo234]

Short Answer: It's because of H-E-B. They have driven competitors away from their home market (ie San Antonio and South Texas) so they have a defacto monopoly.

[produrre]

I hit Sun Harvest periodically, but HEB is the only other game in town, it seems. East Texas had the same issue with Brookshires... they owned the market there.

[jbtx]

My wife loves Sun Harvest. It's just a short drive down Airline from here. I hate that HEB at Staples and Saratoga, always over crowded and too few check out lines. I can't wait for the new Super Wal-Mart to go up at Cimmaron on Saratoga, that is all most in my back yard.

[Marlow]

When a new chain tries to open, H.E.B. is very aggressive about lowering their prices and running them out of town. Only Sun Harvest has survived all these years--mostly because it's a specialty store, I imagine.

[txsizzler]

Didn't we used to have an Albertsons chain here? It was before my time here, evidentally. I like the HEB up in Portland where I live. Very clean, friendly store. The worst one I have been to is in Calallen.. the word "ghetto" comes to mind!

It would be nice to see some more competition though. The mom n' pop stores don't stand a chance with HEB and Walmart around. Thus, your only other means of groceries here in the Coastal Bend come from specialty shops like Sun Harvest, or convienence stores.


Ian

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by team_evans

Just curious--been here in Corpus for a few months and no one has been able to explain why a city of this size only has two grocery chains....? I don't shop at WalMart (at all, ever), so it's a good thing I like HEB, but I'd also kinda like to have some other options, some competitive price pressure, etc. Why haven't any other chains set up shop here?

Grocery chains period are dieing out like so many things. You see more specialty grocery stores, warehouses, and things like farmers markets. Also there seem to be more small chains or independently owned grocery stores. Yes, you still can find places with lots of chain stores, but you will see many of those chains getting smaller or certainly not growing at the rate they did 20 years ago. This goes for indoor malls, major dept stores, etc. We are a changing society and looking for different shopping choices than our parents frequented.

Nita

[Kibby]

Originally Posted by txsizzler

Didn't we used to have an Albertsons chain here? It was before my time here, evidentally. I like the HEB up in Portland where I live. Very clean, friendly store. The worst one I have been to is in Calallen.. the word "ghetto" comes to mind!

It would be nice to see some more competition though. The mom n' pop stores don't stand a chance with HEB and Walmart around. Thus, your only other means of groceries here in the Coastal Bend come from specialty shops like Sun Harvest, or convienence stores.


Ian

The irony is that HEB is the "mom & pop" local store that made it. They are also a great community partner and give 5% of pre-tax profits to charity. HEB is the largest independently owned grocery in the USA and one of the largest privately held firms in the country. Not bad for a beginning of selling some grocery items out of the front room of a small house in Kerrville, TX.

Corpus used to have Jitney Jungle (nationwide chain now out of business) and Feudos (local stores), Handy Andy, Model Market, a few others have come and gone like Albertsons and an early Wal-mart style super store that I think was a Krogers.

Local grocery prices vary little store to store. I wish I had HEB in my area but it's unlikely to happen. I do have Central Markets within a 20 minute drive. My experience has always been that the HEB prices are a little lower (and the produce nicer) than what I get at home.

I buy my meat in Corpus at Moody's - always have. I also buy my charcoal there, usually bring about 100lbs home when I go south. Best hardwood charcoal anywhere @ the best price.

[beautoo]

Re: HEB in Kerrville..... With Kerrville as the 'home' of HEB you kind of expect their store in Kerrville to be the flagship store for the chain, but, boy, would you be wrong. It's fast becoming the joke in town. Carts falling apart, limited selection of most staples & tiny isles. Also, there is a very limited selection of the HEB & Hill Country brand items. But, it has a fantastic selection of olive oils. I never knew there were so many makers of olive oil. A number of friends do most of their shopping at Walmart and Super S. I keep hoping the HEB manager will wake up or be replaced.

[slbutler81]

Plain and simple its just like the others say. We did have Albertson's that had a few stores open, but they were run off by HEB. Everyone forgets that HEB has a tendency to do that everywhere though. I remember a few years back, HEB and WalMart went at it to become the best in town in San Antonio. Lemons were 30 for $1.00, 20 for $1.00 limes, etc. etc. Regarding Brookshire Brothers, they have a monopoly because they were some of the first to open stores in those small East Texas towns. Just my two cents.