Last updated on September 8th, 2023 at 12:59 pm
H-E-B held a grand opening Feb. 15 for its Lake Austin store. Located at 2652 Lake Austin Blvd., the 97,000-square-foot store is the first multi-level location for the retailer in the city.
Construction on the store began in October 2019, but was interrupted due to COVID-19 pandemic-related delays.
“This is a special store that the community has waited for with great anticipation, and we are excited to provide the dynamic shopping experience our loyal and deserving customers will be proud of for decades to come,” said Jim Smith, top store leader.
On the first floor, the location showcases H-E-B’s SouthFlo Pizza restaurant and the Lake Austin’s Coffee Spot, which serves specialty coffee, breakfast tacos, pastries and baked goods made daily at the store’s bakery. Lake Austin’s Coffee Shop is open from 7-9 a.m. for coffee and 7-10:30 a.m. for tacos. Open from 11 a.m.-9 p.m., SouthFlo Pizza serves New York-style, made-to-order pizzas made with artisan dough and a special herb/cheese blend.
On the second level accompanying the sales floor is a True Texas BBQ restaurant. This location, includes a bar with indoor and outdoor seating, is the third True Texas BBQ restaurant in Austin. The restaurant’s bar serves various Texas craft brews, including some from several Austin breweries and cocktails. The True Texas BBQ bar is open from 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Structured underground parking provides the store with a pedestrian-friendly perimeter, including wide sidewalks to encourage walking and biking to the store, as well as street-level landscape. With a second-level sales floor, customers will have access to three elevators, open stairway, multiple escalators and cart escalators.
The H-E-B design team introduced elements such as vine-covered walls, natural lighting, pitched roofs that relate the building’s scale and textured materials like limestone, wood, D’Hanis brick and metals. The store also will incorporate several environmental sustainability elements such as energy-efficient refrigeration with condensation capture for landscape irrigation, as well as rooftop solar panels and EV chargers, which will be installed soon.
In celebration, H-E-B made donations totaling $35,000 to local nonprofits and surrounding schools. H-E-B donated $5,000 each to the Central Texas Food Bank, Treefolks and Pop-up Birthday. Nearby schools Casis Elementary School, Mathews Elementary School, O. Henry Middle School and Austin High School received $5,000 each in H-E-B gift cards.
H-E-B announced late last year a $1 million gift to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation to support the 100th anniversary of Texas State Parks. The Lake Austin H-E-B will temporarily display about a dozen art pieces selected from The Art of Texas Parks collection. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department commissioned Texan artists to paint scenes from their parks. Many of the paintings are on display at the Bullock Museum in Austin.
To view the full gallery from the grand opening celebration, click here.
