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July 20, 2026 (Houston Style Magazine) — Houston’s grocery map is getting two bold new pins—and families from Humble to southwest Houston may want to bring their shopping lists and their appetites.
Joe V’s Smart Shop, H-E-B’s value-focused grocery format, is expanding with two new 57,000-square-foot stores scheduled to open in 2027. Construction is already underway at 19611 US-59 near Interstate 69 in Humble, where the first location is expected to open in early 2027. A second store at 1227 W. Orem Drive near Highway 288 and the City Park community is planned for late 2027.
For Houston-area families balancing grocery budgets, busy schedules and growing households, this expansion is more than another retail announcement. It represents affordable food, neighborhood convenience and a significant employment boost. Each store is expected to hire more than 200 Joe V’s Partners, creating more than 400 new jobs with training, competitive pay, benefits and opportunities for career and leadership development.
That is the kind of economic recipe Houston understands: combine investment, employment and affordable groceries, then serve it family-style.
Launched in 2010, Joe V’s Smart Shop was designed to lower operating costs and pass those savings directly to customers—known affectionately as “Smart Shoppers.” The brand now employs more than 2,700 Partners across 14 stores in the Houston and Dallas areas. As a proud H-E-B media partner, Houston Style Magazine recognizes this expansion as another example of H-E-B planting long-term roots in the communities it serves.
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Both new locations will introduce something especially flavorful: they will be the first Joe V’s Smart Shops to feature H-E-B South Flo Pizza. The grab-and-go concept will offer handcrafted pizzas prepared fresh in-house daily. Translation: shoppers may enter for bananas and leave with dinner handled. That is not impulse buying; that is strategic meal planning with melted cheese.
The stores will also offer home delivery, extending their reach beyond the checkout lane and into surrounding neighborhoods. Inside, customers can expect fresh produce delivered daily, in-store-cut meats, chicken and seafood, freshly made tortillas and breads, Sushiya selections prepared daily, Asian grill favorites, H-E-B Meal Simple options and an expansive selection of Latino cheeses.
The value headlines are hard to miss. Joe V’s plans to continue offering three pounds of bananas for $1, bolillos at eight for $1 and family-friendly Joe V’s Bundle boxes starting at $20. Those seasoned-meat boxes can help stretch a household menu across several meals—an increasingly welcome advantage when families want quality without watching the grocery receipt perform gymnastics.
Beyond food, the new stores are expected to carry dairy and frozen items, seasonal merchandise, cookware, small appliances, toys, personal-care products, baby essentials, nutritional supplements and over-the-counter medications. Convenient self-checkout lanes will help keep traffic moving, while home delivery will provide another option for seniors, working parents and customers with limited transportation.
Historically, H-E-B’s growth is one of Texas’ great business stories. Florence Butt opened the C.C. Butt Grocery Store in Kerrville in 1905 with a $60 investment. From that modest beginning, the company grew by staying close to its customers, respecting its Partners and treating community service as part of the business—not an afterthought.
Today, the San Antonio-based company reports more than $50 billion in sales, over 455 stores in Texas and Mexico, and more than 175,000 Partners serving millions of customers in more than 300 communities.
For Houston, the new Joe V’s stores continue a familiar story: H-E-B invests where people live, work, raise families and build futures. Humble gains a major grocery destination and hundreds of employment opportunities. The City Park and Highway 288 area gains a fresh-food retailer designed around value and convenience. Both communities gain another doorway into the H-E-B family.
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Job seekers should begin watching the official Joe V’s Smart Shop careers portal as employment opportunities are posted. Applicants can search hourly, management and salaried career openings, with Spanish-language job listings also available.
The message is simple: two stores, more than 400 jobs, fresh food, lower prices and pizza coming straight out of the oven.
Houston, that sounds like a smart shop—and an even smarter investment in our communities.
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Kierra LeeKIELEESTYLE@GMAIL.COM4096658446