AUSTIN, Texas — Construction has officially started on the new 103,000-square-foot H-E-B located at Country Road 163 and Highway 290. The popular San Antonio-based supermarket chain bought the property in 2015 and is expected to finish the new store in spring 2023.
With the Nutty Brown Café and Amphitheater closed and the owner relocated to a new site, the new H-E-B will commemorate the iconic venue via building materials and memorabilia within the store.
“At H-E-B, we work hard to tailor our stores to create an experience that’s unique for our neighbors and customers,” said Cathy Harm, H-E-B Group Vice President Central Texas. “We are proud to be a part of this community, and it’s important to us that we do our part to preserve and showcase the heritage and history of such an iconic landmark.”
Red brick from the original brick oven used to produce Nutty Brown Foods will be incorporated into the new H-E-B. There will be a tribute wall near the store’s entrance that will serve as a beacon. This mural will pay tribute to the venue’s 70-year history with vintage photography and inspired by the original sign.
Upon closing the venue, the owner of Nutty Brown Café & Amphitheater Mike Farr gifted signed guitars from Texas music legends to the store. The vision to have these guitars displayed for shoppers to enjoy.
“It means a lot to me that H-E-B cares enough about the history at Nutty Brown and plans to pay homage to it in some way,” said Farr, whose new venue Round Rock Amp opened on April 2. “I value the way H-E-B has treated me and my business over the last several years. They’ve been amazing partners to work with. I live a few miles down the road, and it’s a surreal concept to think that a place I’ve walked into and owned for two decades is now where I’m going to buy milk and bread. But I’m excited to see it and excited to be a part of it.”
This new H-E-B in West Austin will create 300 new jobs as well as help local businesses across the state sell their products to Texans. One of these companies include Skulls and Cakebones, the winner of H-E-B’s 2017 Quest for Texas Best competition. Since winning, plant-based bakery and market is now distributing to several H-E-B stores throughout Central Texas.
“Small business is the heart of Texas communities. H-E-B is helping to build these local economies, and they can single handedly change the course of a small business’s life. They sure changed ours,” said Yauss Berenji, Skull & Cakebones Owner and Chief Creative Officer. “It means everything to see our products on the shelf at H-E-B. It’s proof that our hard work and relentlessness pays off. It is so much more than just selling our product to a grocery store. This is our H-E-B. We shop at H-E-B and when we are there I always stop and point, so excited to see our cupcakes on the shelf.”
Amenities at the new H-E-B will include:
- Full-service bakery and tortilleria
- Texas Backyard, offering products for grilling and gardening
- Full-service meat market and seafood counter
- Wine and beer department with sampling stations
- Car wash and fueling station