Grocery wars heat up in North Texas as H-E-B challenges local heavyweights

The grocery game is heating up in North Texas.

The competition is fiercer than ever as HEB makes waves in the metroplex, opening several new locations and challenging longtime staples like Kroger, Tom Thumb, and Walmart.

Experts say the grocery wars have the potential to reshape the local economy and your shopping cart.

"Well, we know that competition makes us better. So Kroger, Tom Thumb, and others are going to look at HEB and say, OK, we need to compete and we need to do what we believe is best to keep loyal customers,” said Gary Huddleston with the Texas Retailers Association.

HEB broke ground on three more locations in the last couple of weeks. The following new stores are in the works:

Euless/Bedford – Cheek-Sparger Road and Rio Grande Blvd., Opening 2026

Rockwall – I-30 and S. John King Blvd., Opening in late 2025

Irving/Las Colinas – I-635 and Olympus Boulevard, Opening late 2026

Prosper – Frontier Parkway & Dallas North Tollway, Opening Fall 2025

Murphy – FM 544 and McCreary Road, Opening 2026

Melissa – U.S. 75 and Highway 121, Opening 2025

Southern Dallas – Joe V’s concept on Buckner Blvd.

For the first time in its over 100-year history, the San Antonio-based grocery chain has been planting bigger roots across the metroplex and the hype is there. Long lines formed outside every grand opening in places like Frisco, Allen, Plano, and Little Elm since H-E-B started expanding into North Texas in 2021.

“The market is very competitive. And it was competitive before the entrance of H-E-B, but it will become more competitive, I believe, going into 2025,” said Huddleston. “Supermarkets love families and having that is number one for the potential for growth in the supermarket.

So why now? H-E-B’s higher-end grocery sibling, Central Market, has already operated in Dallas for a number of years but the traditional H-E-B store that was commonplace in the rest of Texas only ventured as far north as Waxahachie or Cleburne.

Experts said the changes have to do with the population boom in North Texas since the pandemic – especially in the suburbs as more families move here –  as well as a strong local economy and the availability of open affordable land compared to the rest of the state and country.

“When you look at the suburbs, there's the availability of land. And an average supermarket takes, you know, six to eight or sometimes 10 acres of land, if not more when they're building their stores,” said Huddleston.

However, longtime competitors in DFW aren’t sitting idle.

Kroger is going through some major renovations at several stores and opening new locations in the DFW area. It’s merger with Albertsons is still uncertain after the Federal Trade Commission blocked the move earlier this year.

 Another local favorite Tom Thumb is also fighting to stay relevant, breaking ground on a couple of stores and focusing on loyalty programs.

Meanwhile, Walmart is leaning into convenience, expanding its curbside pickup and home delivery services.

It's something the Texas Retailers Association says they are watching closely.

“They're certainly looking at the competition, they’re remodeling, and they're doing whatever they believe is best to keep their customer base and have loyal customers,” he said. “And I think that brings me to another subject – what I see in 2025 is loyalty programs and a big emphasis on loyalty in the store. They trying to keep and obviously grow new customers, but also keep their loyal customers,” said Huddleston.

That's something he said customers can take advantage of. That means you can find some big savings on the apps, loyalty programs, or in-store coupons with all these different stores as they compete for your dollar.

Competitive fuel prices at these groceries are something else to look out for, as well as a huge focus on home deliveries in the year to come.

Experts are also expecting technology to only ramp up in 2025 as a way to cut costs, with more stores opting for mostly self-checkout or having customers pay on their phone by scanning out through the phone apps – as opposed to hiring more clerk employees.

Huddleston said data estimates show the DFW market is pulling in 20 billion a year on just grocery sales, some of the highest in the country. So expect the competition to get even more interesting in the new year.