Print
E-mail
Comment
Examining the neighborhoods
  
|
H-E-B hybrid: aisle be seeing you near West U
The new H-E-B store in Bunker Hill reaches for grocery nirvana, the best of all grocery worlds — and its manager confirmed that a smaller version of that “hybrid” concept is slated for development at Buffalo Speedway and Bissonnet Street.
The 127,900-square foot H-E-B Bunker Hill Market combines the popular upscale offerings of its Central Market stores with the tried-and-true stock of its traditional grocery stores.
“It was great. It was excellent. It was better than expected,” John May, general manager, said of the store’s public opening Nov. 7. “The customers have been great. They’ve been thanking us for being here.”
May said the store saw “lots” of people but the opening went smoothly, and the excitement is carrying through to this week.
“This is a great neighborhood,” he said. “It’s a ‘grown-up’ neighborhood — most of the people have been here for a while. It’s been a lot of fun.”
Besides the upscale and standard food lines, the store has a cooking supply department, a row of games and toys, a few racks of specialty clothing, high-end cosmetics, and a row of bulk-packed products.
There’s ethnic and international foods from every region on earth. There’s the Cafe on the Run, where customers can eat a prepared meal, or carry out to eat elsewhere. There’s a business center where customers can pay all their bills, wire money and buy money orders. There’s an IBC Bank inside the store too.
There’s a full-service pharmacy. There are “Showtime” stations where food demonstations will take place throughout the day. There’s a cooking center where chefs will prepare recipes and share samples.
“The grocery business is very competitive,” said Russ Hammond, center store leader, who’s responsible for non-perishable goods. “You have to distinguish yourself.”
“We tailor each store to the surrounding neighborhood,” said Tom Jarvis, group vice president. “We went the extra mile (in Bunker Hill) — this store has more variety than any store in H-E-B.”
May said that for nine weeks, he and his leadership team met with community leaders, seeking input that was incorporated into the store in a number of ways, from product selection to some design elements. For instance, he learned that residents of the villages and surrounding areas were interested in wines and cheese. So the new H-E-B will offer more than 400 kinds of cheeses, and a number of fine wines along with its more affordable wine selection.
Abuzz with last-minute preparations, the store at 9710 Katy Freeway was a veritable beehive of activity during a media tour the day before opening. There was a sense of urgency, sure, and a thousand details to be tended to, but the work is steady, persistent, confident.
May smiled but wasn’t kidding when asked if the store would be ready. “It has to be. We’re opening Nov. 7.”
Outside, workers were in cherry pickers putting the final touches on the building’s facade. Another group of workers cemented masonry blocks around a large stone flower bed. Landscapers lay sod in the curbed concrete esplanades in the parking lot.
Inside, store employees — partners, in H-E-B parlance — stocked shelves, arranged displays, and attended to the myriad preparatory details. Bakers fashioned lumps of dough into loaves of bread. Fresh seafood was carefully arranged in iced displays. Another group was making cheese into edible works of art. Vendors were helping get their products and brands in place.
It all came together by Thursday night, when an estimated 2,000 Memorial-area residents turned out in cocktail attire for an invitation-only ribbon-cutting and preview party.
Guests who arrived early were entertained outside the entrance by dancers on stilts from the Aldine ISD. After words from H-E-B executives and store manager May, H-E-B presented officials from the Spring Branch Education Foundation with a $5,000 check.
“I’ve never seen in my career a business entity put more effort into supporting education,” said Duncan Klussmann, Spring Branch ISD superintendent.
Inside, the Memorial High School jazz band performed near the checkout. A more restrained string quartet from MHS played in the meat and cheese section of the store. Guest mingled while sampling foods prepared from the store’s stock or its ready-made complement.
The Central Market-style products are found on the store’s “edges,” with more traditional fare stocked in the store’s center. The edges include more than 1,000 items in produce, 400 cheeses, scratch-baked breads, seafood that’s brought in fresh seven days a week, prime, organic meats, fine wines, and more.
Reported by Rusty Graham
rgraham@hcnonline.com
Wayne Newton: ‘danke schoen’ to area veterans
When Wayne Newton talks about his heart, he credits the late Dr. Michael DeBakey for saving his life.
When retired Marine Col. Stan Horton of Houston talks about Wayne Newton’s heart, it’s nothing biological.
“Wayne Newton has a heart that pumps full of patriotism,” said Horton. “He’s done as many shows for the military as he’s done in Vegas.”
And that’s saying something, since “Mr. Las Vegas” has done an estimated 40,000 shows there.
Newton was both honored and a guest of honor at the Nov. 7 “Salute to Veterans” luncheon, presented by the Houston West Chamber of Commerce at the Omni Hotel in West Houston.
Newton and William M. “Willie” Pena were presented “Heart of Service” awards; Newton for his longtime and ongoing support of military service members, and Pena for his service during World War II. Pena, 90, a retired architect and member of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets, was medically retired as a captain following World War II, having lost his foot and ankle to battle in Europe late in the war.
This is the fourth year the Houston West chamber has recognized veterans with the luncheon and awards, said Jeannie Bollinger, chamber president. Veterans attend free, the cost underwritten by business sponsors.
Newton assumed chairmanship of the USO Celebrity Circle in 2000 from Bob Hope, the legendary and seemingly indefatigable entertainer who since World War II had traveled wherever U.S. service members were stationed overseas.
“When I was made chairman, President Bush told me the job had a duration of 60 years,” the 66-year-old Newton said. “I told him I don’t have 60 years.”
No matter. Newton is as seemingly indefatigable as Hope, who he traveled with for years. Newton and his brother first performed as guests of the USO in Washington, D.C., for President Harry Truman, in “1951 or ‘52.” He went to Vietnam twice to entertain troops, and has entertained service members in every conflict since.
Barbara Hayley, a longtime friend of Newton’s and a member of the Houston West chamber, told the estimated 560 attendees that after a recent trip to the Middle East, Newton and his wife Kathleen called family members of service members he’d encountered to tell them their loved ones were all right.
The rest of the story comes from Susan Barlow, Houston USO director. “(Newton) goes into places where he’s only expected to shake a few hands or something, then leave,” said Barlow. “But somebody will hand him a guitar, and he’ll start performing.” That includes the forward operating bases, outposts where soldiers don’t have hot showers and eat MREs. That’s where Newton had been when he took the list of names and phone numbers to call the family members — at a forward operating base.
“It’s divine intervention,” said Barlow. “The USO is blessed to have someone like Wayne Newton.”
Yet Newton would say it’s he who is blessed; he’s able to bring some light into sometimes enduringly bleak situations.
A humble and self-deprecating man, Newton is quick to tell stories in which he is the brunt of the joke. Friday, he gave luncheon guests a behind-the-scenes glance at himself, the “other side” of the story.
After telling his mother that he’d won Native American entertainer of the year, she asked “Who else was in the running?”
After Houston Mayor Bill White noted how special it was to have a street named after a living person (Wayne Newton Boulevard runs from McCarran International Airport to downtown Las Vegas), Newton said the only name available had been Bugsy Siegel.
After asking Bob Hope why the two didn’t always travel together (Hope often went to larger bases while Newton would go to smaller, more remote places), Newton said Hope told him “You’re not too bright, are you?
“The first thing we do in times of trouble is send out an Indian scout. And if he comes back, then we know we can go.”
The chamber award and the attention humbled him, he said, “because so many have given so much more.”
Newton told the group that the United States today faces more “fanatics who want to destroy us” than ever before.
Reported by Rusty Graham
rgraham@hcnonline.com
BY THE NUMBERS
A look at the H-E-B Bunker Hill Market.
127,900 square feet
4,000 titles in books and magazine
2,000 selections of wines
900 varieties of fresh fruits and vegatables
430 partners (employees)
100 kinds of certified organic produce
75 varieties of seafood available daily
30 live cooking demonstrations every week
24 checkout lanes
24 hour automated prescription refill line
1 destination
The new H-E-B store in Bunker Hill reaches for grocery nirvana, the best of all grocery worlds — and its manager confirmed that a smaller version of that “hybrid” concept is slated for development at Buffalo Speedway and Bissonnet Street.
The 127,900-square foot H-E-B Bunker Hill Market combines the popular upscale offerings of its Central Market stores with the tried-and-true stock of its traditional grocery stores.
“It was great. It was excellent. It was better than expected,” John May, general manager, said of the store’s public opening Nov. 7. “The customers have been great. They’ve been thanking us for being here.”
May said the store saw “lots” of people but the opening went smoothly, and the excitement is carrying through to this week.
“This is a great neighborhood,” he said. “It’s a ‘grown-up’ neighborhood — most of the people have been here for a while. It’s been a lot of fun.”
Besides the upscale and standard food lines, the store has a cooking supply department, a row of games and toys, a few racks of specialty clothing, high-end cosmetics, and a row of bulk-packed products.
There’s ethnic and international foods from every region on earth. There’s the Cafe on the Run, where customers can eat a prepared meal, or carry out to eat elsewhere. There’s a business center where customers can pay all their bills, wire money and buy money orders. There’s an IBC Bank inside the store too.
There’s a full-service pharmacy. There are “Showtime” stations where food demonstations will take place throughout the day. There’s a cooking center where chefs will prepare recipes and share samples.
“The grocery business is very competitive,” said Russ Hammond, center store leader, who’s responsible for non-perishable goods. “You have to distinguish yourself.”
“We tailor each store to the surrounding neighborhood,” said Tom Jarvis, group vice president. “We went the extra mile (in Bunker Hill) — this store has more variety than any store in H-E-B.”
May said that for nine weeks, he and his leadership team met with community leaders, seeking input that was incorporated into the store in a number of ways, from product selection to some design elements. For instance, he learned that residents of the villages and surrounding areas were interested in wines and cheese. So the new H-E-B will offer more than 400 kinds of cheeses, and a number of fine wines along with its more affordable wine selection.
Abuzz with last-minute preparations, the store at 9710 Katy Freeway was a veritable beehive of activity during a media tour the day before opening. There was a sense of urgency, sure, and a thousand details to be tended to, but the work is steady, persistent, confident.
May smiled but wasn’t kidding when asked if the store would be ready. “It has to be. We’re opening Nov. 7.”
Outside, workers were in cherry pickers putting the final touches on the building’s facade. Another group of workers cemented masonry blocks around a large stone flower bed. Landscapers lay sod in the curbed concrete esplanades in the parking lot.
Inside, store employees — partners, in H-E-B parlance — stocked shelves, arranged displays, and attended to the myriad preparatory details. Bakers fashioned lumps of dough into loaves of bread. Fresh seafood was carefully arranged in iced displays. Another group was making cheese into edible works of art. Vendors were helping get their products and brands in place.
It all came together by Thursday night, when an estimated 2,000 Memorial-area residents turned out in cocktail attire for an invitation-only ribbon-cutting and preview party.
Guests who arrived early were entertained outside the entrance by dancers on stilts from the Aldine ISD. After words from H-E-B executives and store manager May, H-E-B presented officials from the Spring Branch Education Foundation with a $5,000 check.
“I’ve never seen in my career a business entity put more effort into supporting education,” said Duncan Klussmann, Spring Branch ISD superintendent.
Inside, the Memorial High School jazz band performed near the checkout. A more restrained string quartet from MHS played in the meat and cheese section of the store. Guest mingled while sampling foods prepared from the store’s stock or its ready-made complement.
The Central Market-style products are found on the store’s “edges,” with more traditional fare stocked in the store’s center. The edges include more than 1,000 items in produce, 400 cheeses, scratch-baked breads, seafood that’s brought in fresh seven days a week, prime, organic meats, fine wines, and more.
Reported by Rusty Graham
rgraham@hcnonline.com
Wayne Newton: ‘danke schoen’ to area veterans
When Wayne Newton talks about his heart, he credits the late Dr. Michael DeBakey for saving his life.
When retired Marine Col. Stan Horton of Houston talks about Wayne Newton’s heart, it’s nothing biological.
“Wayne Newton has a heart that pumps full of patriotism,” said Horton. “He’s done as many shows for the military as he’s done in Vegas.”
And that’s saying something, since “Mr. Las Vegas” has done an estimated 40,000 shows there.
Newton was both honored and a guest of honor at the Nov. 7 “Salute to Veterans” luncheon, presented by the Houston West Chamber of Commerce at the Omni Hotel in West Houston.
Newton and William M. “Willie” Pena were presented “Heart of Service” awards; Newton for his longtime and ongoing support of military service members, and Pena for his service during World War II. Pena, 90, a retired architect and member of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets, was medically retired as a captain following World War II, having lost his foot and ankle to battle in Europe late in the war.
This is the fourth year the Houston West chamber has recognized veterans with the luncheon and awards, said Jeannie Bollinger, chamber president. Veterans attend free, the cost underwritten by business sponsors.
Newton assumed chairmanship of the USO Celebrity Circle in 2000 from Bob Hope, the legendary and seemingly indefatigable entertainer who since World War II had traveled wherever U.S. service members were stationed overseas.
“When I was made chairman, President Bush told me the job had a duration of 60 years,” the 66-year-old Newton said. “I told him I don’t have 60 years.”
No matter. Newton is as seemingly indefatigable as Hope, who he traveled with for years. Newton and his brother first performed as guests of the USO in Washington, D.C., for President Harry Truman, in “1951 or ‘52.” He went to Vietnam twice to entertain troops, and has entertained service members in every conflict since.
Barbara Hayley, a longtime friend of Newton’s and a member of the Houston West chamber, told the estimated 560 attendees that after a recent trip to the Middle East, Newton and his wife Kathleen called family members of service members he’d encountered to tell them their loved ones were all right.
The rest of the story comes from Susan Barlow, Houston USO director. “(Newton) goes into places where he’s only expected to shake a few hands or something, then leave,” said Barlow. “But somebody will hand him a guitar, and he’ll start performing.” That includes the forward operating bases, outposts where soldiers don’t have hot showers and eat MREs. That’s where Newton had been when he took the list of names and phone numbers to call the family members — at a forward operating base.
“It’s divine intervention,” said Barlow. “The USO is blessed to have someone like Wayne Newton.”
Yet Newton would say it’s he who is blessed; he’s able to bring some light into sometimes enduringly bleak situations.
A humble and self-deprecating man, Newton is quick to tell stories in which he is the brunt of the joke. Friday, he gave luncheon guests a behind-the-scenes glance at himself, the “other side” of the story.
After telling his mother that he’d won Native American entertainer of the year, she asked “Who else was in the running?”
After Houston Mayor Bill White noted how special it was to have a street named after a living person (Wayne Newton Boulevard runs from McCarran International Airport to downtown Las Vegas), Newton said the only name available had been Bugsy Siegel.
After asking Bob Hope why the two didn’t always travel together (Hope often went to larger bases while Newton would go to smaller, more remote places), Newton said Hope told him “You’re not too bright, are you?
“The first thing we do in times of trouble is send out an Indian scout. And if he comes back, then we know we can go.”
The chamber award and the attention humbled him, he said, “because so many have given so much more.”
Newton told the group that the United States today faces more “fanatics who want to destroy us” than ever before.
Reported by Rusty Graham
rgraham@hcnonline.com
BY THE NUMBERS
A look at the H-E-B Bunker Hill Market.
127,900 square feet
4,000 titles in books and magazine
2,000 selections of wines
900 varieties of fresh fruits and vegatables
430 partners (employees)
100 kinds of certified organic produce
75 varieties of seafood available daily
30 live cooking demonstrations every week
24 checkout lanes
24 hour automated prescription refill line
1 destination
Submit a Comment
|
You must be logged in to post a comment.
|
Not yet a registered member?
Click here to become one. Comments to stories and articles on the Web site are not edited or pre-approved before appearing online. Readers posting comments are solely responsible for those comments. Comments must be germane to the story to which they apply. Online comments that are libelous, profane or personally attack another site participant can be reported as abuse using the link provided on each comment. Comments reported as abusive will be reviewed and may be removed from view, as will off-topic comments. BE CIVIL. Individuals continually posting abusive comments to the site may have their registrations revoked. |
