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How H-E-B became Texas' most beloved brand (2024)

texashighways.com

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Re: How H-E-B became Texas' most beloved brand (2024)

#111

Post by jmalicki »

drivingmenuts wrote: post #28
jmalicki wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think one of the best things about the new HEBs is the attached BBQ store. Not a Texan, just visited occasionally. This sentence more than anything has just made me want to become a Texan. I did not know this was a thing, but that sounds amazing.

I would rate their BBQ equal to anything else you'll find in Austin, except maybe Franklin BBQ, which I don't have the patience for, so I haven't tried it nor will I bother.

You are really making me want to move! I've been to Franklin BBQ, but am happy to settle for Rudy's for shorter lines. But if I can get that quality at the grocery store? That changes the equation.

Re: How H-E-B became Texas' most beloved brand (2024)

#112

Post by doodlebugging »

viccis wrote: post #101
doodlebugging wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not gonna argue the quality of HEB BBQ since it obviously stands on its own merits among Texas shoppers. The meat that I smoke at home is better than any that I have bought at a BBQ joint or stand in the country outside of this one stand in Greenville, Mississippi. While working there, I made sure that I stocked up on meats every day. That man had it down. I've been eating BBQ since I was a small child and I'm on…

Bear in mind that Blue Bell, a company that knowingly killed people with listeria, "stands on its own merits" among Texas shoppers.

This is true. Some people can let this slide and go back to buying products from companies that have clearly demonstrated where their own priorities lie. Allowing Blue Bell back into the market was a mistake in my opinion and it is the reason that we do not buy any Blue Bell products. There are so many other products available from so many different companies, none of which has the history that Blue Bell chose. When we buy ice cream or similar frozen items we buy other brands.

In my own mind, second chances are context dependent. They clearly knew about the problem and the potential health consequences for customers, and they chose to continue operations. Some people became sick and others died. There are no second chances in that situation. All of the people at Blue Bell in the chain who decided to keep running should be in prison and their assets confiscated.

I'm glad that we were not big ice cream eaters while this was a problem because Blue Bell was one of our trusted brands.

HEB carries Blue Bell but I don't have to buy it since they also carry quite a few other brands.

Re: How H-E-B became Texas' most beloved brand (2024)

#113

Post by verall »

drivingmenuts wrote: post #28
jmalicki wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think one of the best things about the new HEBs is the attached BBQ store. Not a Texan, just visited occasionally. This sentence more than anything has just made me want to become a Texan. I did not know this was a thing, but that sounds amazing.

I would rate their BBQ equal to anything else you'll find in Austin, except maybe Franklin BBQ, which I don't have the patience for, so I haven't tried it nor will I bother.

There's so many other bbq restaurants competitive with Franklin and better than heb.

For the price though, the heb bbq is extremely competitive. But if someone is coming to town looking for great bbq (even without any Franklin line), there are a bunch of places id recommend first.

Re: How H-E-B became Texas' most beloved brand (2024)

#114

Post by HFguy »

jubilanti wrote: post #96
collabs wrote: post #59

I lived closer to WinCo in DFW area and could walk to a grocery store to buy bread or some random grocery item. It was really nice. I don't think Europeans will ever understand how much of a flex it is to be able to walk to a grocery store in Texas.

I don't think you realize how boringly normal it is in Europe for people to never have a car and take public transit to the hypermarket, the same Cathedral of Consumerist Capitalism with a combined supermarket, shopping mall, movie theater, often a stadium for concerts and sports... And you can go with a granny hand cart multiple times a week because it's just a few stops on public transit, where it is also often a h…

I think you are 100% misunderstanding what they are saying.

They are saying almost no one in Texas can walk to a grocery store. Hence, it is a flex if you can. And Europeans don't understand that it is that unusual.

Re: How H-E-B became Texas' most beloved brand (2024)

#115

Post by infecto »

bell-cot wrote: post #43
infecto wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are plenty of crappy family owned business that pay too little and expect too much. I don’t know if this is a public vs private company issue.

True. Family-owned is " allowed to be good". Not "motivated". And bluntly put, the vast majority of businesses are running on thin margins - they couldn't pay well for reasonable work if they wanted to.

I would even go as far to argue that there are far more worse companies employee benefits wise in private companies than public. Public companies kind of like markets solve a really hard problem. It’s probably not always the optimal solution but hopefully gets there over the horizon.

Re: How H-E-B became Texas' most beloved brand (2024)

#116

Post by CSMastermind »

aidenn0 wrote: post #87
CSMastermind wrote: post #73

I have a weird affection for good georcery chains. Wegmans, HEB, Giant Eagle, to a limited extent Publix. It's so odd to me that there are areas of the country with nothing like them. It really seems like you just need one good family who decides that they're going to care about how they're set up and make an effort to build a company with the right values.

Grocery stores got bad in most of the country the way a lot of things did, through illegal M&A.

They used to have HEB, Wegmans, etc quality stores in Seattle before some merger? What were they?

Why did this M&A seemingly not happen in Texas, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio?

Re: How H-E-B became Texas' most beloved brand (2024)

#117

Post by [deleted] »

DANmode wrote: post #86
collabs wrote: post #59

I lived closer to WinCo in DFW area and could walk to a grocery store to buy bread or some random grocery item. It was really nice. I don't think Europeans will ever understand how much of a flex it is to be able to walk to a grocery store in Texas.

I don’t think Europeans want to understand why most of us are okay with a massive struggle to get food and basics, instead of them being on every corner.

[deleted]

Re: How H-E-B became Texas' most beloved brand (2024)

#118

Post by aidenn0 »

CSMastermind wrote: post #116
aidenn0 wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Grocery stores got bad in most of the country the way a lot of things did, through illegal M&A.

They used to have HEB, Wegmans, etc quality stores in Seattle before some merger? What were they? Why did this M&A seemingly not happen in Texas, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio?

I've never lived in Seattle, but I know that Haggen was a casualty of The Safeway/Albertson's merger[1]; I can't speak to their quality.

Safeway and Albertsons had already bought up many grocery stores prior to that merger. When I was a kid, we knew which grocer had the best butcher and which had the best baker, and neither were chain stores.

1: Granted Haggen isn't entirely innocent here; they saw a potential growth opportunity and over-leveraged.

Re: How H-E-B became Texas' most beloved brand (2024)

#120

Post by nerdsniper »

arcticfox wrote: post #109
nerdsniper wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Before they put up plexiglass they announced that they would fire any staff members who wore a mask to work. Later they mandated masks.

Tbf, I recall the official guidance being a complete mess for a period. I recall feeling satisfied at not wearing a mask to comply with official guidance for a (short) period. Then the guidance changed.

True, the CDC royally fucked that up.
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