Grocery Store closest to HEB style in Dallas? (Houston, Plano: home, food)

[tcualum]

DFW has 5 Patel Brothers and Houston has none. They may have something equivalent but I don't know what it is. Patel Brothers is a US-style grocery chain for Indians and Pakistanis. Unlike a lot of mom-and-pop small Indian groceries, it's clean, well stocked and well lit.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by tcualum

DFW has 5 Patel Brothers and Houston has none. They may have something equivalent but I don't know what it is. Patel Brothers is a US-style grocery chain for Indians and Pakistanis. Unlike a lot of mom-and-pop small Indian groceries, it's clean, well stocked and well lit.

There’s a Patel Brothers in Houston in little India. I passed by it all the time. There used to be one in Sugarland I’m not sure if that one is still there though

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by serger

After a 14 hour drive, no energy for any of this, so I'll go with whatever.

Glad you made it safe

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by citidata18

It does make it more competitive in the sense that H-E-B wold have to work much harder to de-throne them in DFW than they have in Houston, Austin and San Antonio.

I should note BTW, when H-E-B entered Houston, Walmart was barely a factor.

This is true, because HEB had entered Houston in the 1990s (maybe earlier?), when Walmart pretty much didn't sell groceries at all. However, HEB's stores back then were very different from what they became in the 2000s and 2010s. Most of them were "Pantry" stores that were seriously underwhelming. HEB made a conscious decision to upgrade in Houston because with Walmart going to grocery models and Kroger continuing to add stores, including "Signature" Krogers that made a direct appeal to Randall's customers, they knew if they didn't, they would be squeezed out of the market, and they didn't want to give up on a huge metro area like that.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

Because they have struggled to keep up with the times. Also because back then, such as when I was a kid, Fiesta Was a general spot for all Hispanics. These days it’s still Is, But now you have specific grocery stores for most Hispanic countries. At least the ones with fairly large populations here. Which is most of Latin America besides Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. As a Venezuelan, we have a full scale gourmet Venezuelan grocery store in Katy built with a bakery and even a night lounge next to it serving Venezuelan beers. Other countries have similar things these days too. This made fiesta lose a lot of ground

The Mexican store these days that kids love throughout Texas and Oklahoma is La Michoacana. And that one is growing quickly and adapting to times. They’re the new hispanic king in Texas. They even have a decent store brand

Michoacana is definitely a big deal, but my impression was that El Rancho seemed to have more cachet at least in DFW. They also seem to have a larger store format, somewhere in between a Michoacana and a Fiesta. I'm not criticizing Michoacana as I've never heard anyone complain about it fulfilling its role, not the same way I've seen complaints in recent years about Fiesta.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

Michoacana is definitely a big deal, but my impression was that El Rancho seemed to have more cachet at least in DFW. They also seem to have a larger store format, somewhere in between a Michoacana and a Fiesta. I'm not criticizing Michoacana as I've never heard anyone complain about it fulfilling its role, not the same way I've seen complaints in recent years about Fiesta.

You DEFINITELY have this one wrong. I’m not a huge fan of them, but Michoacana has adopted itself as a lifestyle throughout Texas more so than any other hispanic Grocer by far. Many view Michoacana the way Texans hype Buc Ees. Some Michoacana locations are supermarket sized while others are c stores. I prefer Fiesta because they caters to more nationalities, but you’re definitely sleeping on Michoacana’s tandem. They’ve been the king of Texaa hispanic grocers for a while now

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

You DEFINITELY have this one wrong. I’m not a huge fan of them, but Michoacana has adopted itself as a lifestyle throughout Texas more so than any other hispanic Grocer by far. Many view Michoacana the way Texans hype Buc Ees. Some Michoacana locations are supermarket sized while others are c stores. I prefer Fiesta because they caters to more nationalities, but you’re definitely sleeping on Michoacana’s tandem. They’ve been the king of Texaa hispanic grocers for a while now

Oh I knew that Michoacana was more prevalent I just didn't know their level of prestige in the category. I haven't really seen a larger store format from them.

[serger]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

Glad you made it safe

Thanks.
Pretty dicey road conditions in Colorado and New Mexico, and even a bit in the panhandle.

[Mr. Clutch]

I honestly didn't know people really shopped at Walmart for groceries as their main store until I moved to Dallas. They are huge up there, but I wasn't around 20-30 years ago to see what it was like before then that allowed them to build up such a big position in the metroplex. Everywhere else I've lived, buying groceries from Walmart was more of something you did when you happened to be there for something else. It's very interesting how strong they are purely as a grocer there.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by Mr. Clutch

I honestly didn't know people really shopped at Walmart for groceries as their main store until I moved to Dallas. They are huge up there, but I wasn't around 20-30 years ago to see what it was like before then that allowed them to build up such a big position in the metroplex. Everywhere else I've lived, buying groceries from Walmart was more of something you did when you happened to be there for something else. It's very interesting how strong they are purely as a grocer there.

That's why people think the grocery store game in DFW is inferior. Most people in USA view Walmart as a last resort store. And them being the top dog grocer just makes things seem lower class up there.