It's hard not to feel a swell of excitement as a new grocery store swings open its door for the very first time.

Shoppers sidle up to the entrance with anticipation and push new, shiny steel carts down glistening floors, surveying the picture-perfect merchandising displays and unblemished, ripe produce. It's a rare and lovely moment, filled with equal parts promise and showmanship.

On Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, San Antonio-based grocery retailer H-E-B cut the ribbon on its latest Austin-area location — an expansive 97,000-square-foot, two-level store at 2652 Lake Austin Blvd. that not only includes spacious, well-stocked departments but also a barbecue restaurant, coffee shop, pizza takeout and a full bar with patio seating views of Austin's beloved Lady Bird Lake.

Whoever said that in-person, brick-and-mortar shopping was dead clearly hasn't stepped inside an H-E-B lately.

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Even though H-E-B only operates in one state in the U.S., it looms large among grocery retailers, giving to credence to the saying, "everything is bigger in Texas." The grocery retailer has a cult-following in the Lone Star State and has continued to enjoy steady growth over the past several years, in both in-person and e-commerce sales. In June 2022, it even beat out behemoths Amazon and Walmart, snagging the top spot in the American Retailer Preference Index from London-based customer data science company Dunnhumby.

E-commerce wins aside, when strolling through the aisles of the newest H-E-B in central Austin, it's hard to ignore the obvious: The Texas retailer is betting on rich in-store shopping experiences to draw shoppers into its stores. With sprawling produce displays that highlight plentiful Texas and organic options, to fresh tortillas, draft beer and porch views, and ample opportunities to order online and scan QR codes in H-E-B's new Lake Austin location, the grocer is betting shoppers will want to experience shopping in its aisles firsthand.

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Peek into produce

The produce department of H-E-B's new Lake Austin location leads with plenty of Texas-grown and organic options. 

Salad days

A wall of salad invites customers looking for fresh grab-and-go lunch options to look no further. 

Integrated shopping

While the experience of picking up groceries, a coffee, prescriptions, tacos or barbecue is clearly the focus on the new store design, opportunities to scan a QR code to check out a menu or order online are sprinkled throughout the store with aesthetically pleasing and adaptable digital signage.

Only in Texas 

Just in case you forgot you were in Austin, Texas. Breakfast tacos rank under coffee as grocery staples in Texas' capitol city.