Austin, TX
Grocery store shoppers tell us what they think is the best H-E-B in the Austin area
H-E-B’s longest serving employee reflects on career, retirement
After a 50-year career at H-E-B, Ofelia Garcia retired in December 2021. She says what she misses most are her customers.
Sara Diggins, Austin American-Statesman
Austin Answered really shines when you readers get involved.
On Jan. 3, I asked: “Barbecue to challah bread: What is the fanciest H-E-B in the Austin area?” In that column, I published early answers plucked from Reddit Austin that included maximal stores at Lake Austin and Exposition boulevards, South Congress Avenue at Slaughter Lane, Far West and Wood Hollow boulevards, Hancock Center and Mueller, as well as Central Market South.
You not only read the story in the tens of thousands and, thank you, shared it with your friends, some of you added your own two cents.
Tell us what you really think: What is the best H-E-B in the Austin area?
Round 2 of the debate adds some twists to the right stuff.
Darcie Jane Fromholz: “The new one on University in Georgetown is awesome! The BBQ place is two stories high and you can actually get a cocktail! And the produce section is excellent — not so much international, because Georgetown — but a lovely store!
Patrick Landrum: “Cart concierge service at Lake Austin is hard to beat! Carts even have their own escalator, plus there are elevators to the parking garage, coffee shop and barbecue!”
Dan Dodson: “The ‘Gucci-B’s’ are nice, e.g. Austin #32 on Exposition, and coming soon, the new Austin #8 store at West Oltorf Street and South Congress. However, if you need something less mainstream — (for instance) the industrial size Bolner’s Family Fiesta Spices paprika to make your own BBQ rub — you need to check out the larger stores in different neighborhoods. Austin #3 at Hancock Center’s student population gets a different marketing mix than Austin #11 on Slaughter Lane at Menchaca Road’s. Fortunately, they all carry 1905 Vanilla Ice Cream (still made with egg).”
I’m pleased Mr. Dodson knows the numbers for each H-E-B store in Austin. There’s history in those designations.
One last reader generously volunteered to expand our geographic reach to the Rio Grande Valley.
Scott Ballew: “Y’all need to come down to ‘Gucci-B’ in McAllen. That store is something else.”
More Austin Answered
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What’s the best recipe for Texas chili (no beans)? Here’s a spicy, streamlined version.
Send your questions — and answers — about Central Texas past and present to “Austin Answered” at mbarnes@statesman.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas’ highway system dropped two spots since 2025, and now ranks at No. 27 in the country for its cost-effectiveness and overall conditions, according to the Reason Foundation’s 2026 Highway Report.
The report assessed pavement conditions, fatalities, deficient bridges, infrastructure costs and congestion levels across the United States. Texas earned the following rankings:
- 33rd in urban interstate pavement conditions
- 21st in rural interstate pavement conditions
- 39th in urban arterial pavement conditions
- 12th in rural arterial pavement conditions
- 3rd in structurally deficient bridges
- 26th in urban fatality rate
- 42nd in rural fatality rate
- 41st in traffic congestion
“More than 42,000 of the nation’s 618,923 highway bridges, nearly 7%, are still structurally deficient. Arizona, Nevada, and Texas reported the lowest percentages of deficient bridges,” the report said.
The full report can be found online.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Small hail peppered the Austin area as strong thunderstorms moved through Saturday.
A few of the storms dropped rain and up to pea-sized hail in San Marcos, Dripping Springs and the Austin metro area.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for Williamson County around 8:15 p.m., and then canceled shortly after. However, it was enough for the Two Step Inn music festival in Georgetown to cancel shows for the rest of the evening. Event organizers say the festival will run as planned Sunday.
KXAN’s First Warning Weather team is monitoring the storms. We will update this post as the evening continues.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Society Sons of the American Revolution unveiled a new monument at the Texas State Cemetery on Saturday, dedicated to Texas Revolutionary War soldiers.
“We must educate every generation about why it is that America grew from a tenuous 13 colonies into the most powerful country in the history of the world,” said Governor Abbott. “This monument here is an enduring testament to the heroes who fought for the freedom that is unique to America.”
The monument was dedicated to 69 soldiers who fought in the American Revolutionary War and later settled in Texas, according to a press release.
Among those that were honored, Abbott recognized:
- José Santiago Seguín, grandfather of Texas Revolutionary hero Juan Seguín.
- Peter Sides, who fought in the 2nd Battalion of the North Carolina Regiment of the Colonial Army, and was later killed in the 1813 Battle of Medina, fighting for Mexican independence against Spain.
- Antonio Gil Y’Barbo, the founder of Nacogdoches.
- William Sparks, who fought as a mounted rifleman in the American Revolution and later settled in Texas. He had two sons and two grandsons who fought in the Texas Revolution.
“This year marks the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, which not only gave freedom to the British colonies of North America, but inspired movements for freedom and liberty all over the world,” said TSSAR President Mel Oller. “Texans played a role in the war too, and it’s important to recognize them, and the sacrifices they made for our freedom.”
At the monument unveiling, Abbott was also inducted into the Sons of the American Revolution and received its Silver Good Citizenship Medal.
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