DALLAS — Read this story and more North Texas business news from our partners at the Dallas Business Journal.
H-E-B executives and community leaders on June 11 celebrated the arrival of the grocery chain's value-focused brand in North Texas.
The first location of Joe V’s Smart Shop in Dallas-Fort Worth, and the first outside of the Houston area, is set to open this week at 4101 W. Wheatland Road. That's in an area near Duncanville that had been considered a food desert, with few options for fresh groceries.
The space actually used to be an Albertsons grocery store but has been vacant for about 10 years. Renovations took around six months.
The new store, which is the 11th overall location of Joe V’s, is located near the Inspiring Body of Christ Church, a nondenominational megachurch. Several members of IBOC, including Pastor Rickie Rush, attended the June 11 ribbon-cutting. The store formally opens to the public at 7 a.m. Wednesday, June 12.
"My team knows the expectations when it comes to this community," Jeremy Chappell, the store's general manager, said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. "This community has been deserving of fine retail, and that's what we're going to deliver each and every day."
The new location is modeled after a new Joe V’s that opened in Katy, west of Houston, toward the end of 2023. Joe V’s Smart Shop first opened in Houston in 2010 as a response to the 2008 financial crisis when many people lost their jobs and shoppers felt their wallets pinched. The typical Joe V's is around 55,000 square feet, about half the size of an H-E-B.
Products at Joe V’s locations are generally about 10% to 20% cheaper than traditional H-E-B stores, executives have previously said. The stores keep prices down through a couple of strategic ways, according to Chief Operating Officer Roxanne Orsak, who came up with the concept at H-E-B. First, full truckloads are purchased and shipped directly to stores, eliminating warehouse costs.
Those low prices mean inventory gets turned around fast, which keeps products fresh and attracts suppliers.
"We focus on the items customers want; we focus on the tonnage and that really helps us keep our costs low," Orsak said. "We don’t have to inventory products that don’t sell."
Some products that will be sold at the Wheatland store include fresh tortillas, sushi, hot Asian grill items and bolillos — a popular kind of savory Mexican bread that the chain has sold at eight-for-$1 since 2010.
"That has been a staple price for our division since inception," Chappell said during the event, drawing cheers.
Joe V’s also partnered with a local, family-owned restaurant, Smokey John's Bar-B-Que & Home Cooking in Dallas, to sell its widely popular banana pudding. The dessert, which uses a recipe created by the founder’s mother, will be unique to that store.
When H-E-B LP announced in 2013 it was going to build locations of Joe V’s in the Dallas area, some residents expressed mixed feelings. Some wondered why they weren't getting a full H-E-B store instead, according to Zarin Gracey, Dallas City Council member for District 3, who said he was also somewhat skeptical.
After touring the original Joe V’s store in Houston, Gracey was more convinced of the brand, noting its commitment to the community. He said he saw firsthand the freshness of the products, particularly in the produce and meat departments.
Meat is cut in the store daily by certified butchers, who are paid at least $20 an hour.
"It’s going to be a standout grocery," Gracey said. There aren't many options here and especially options of this caliber ... you don't have that level of experience elsewhere.
Overall, the store will have around 250 employees across all departments, a significant number in an area that has not seen the same level of investment as other parts of DFW.
"There’s such a commitment to the quality of the produce and the food; the commitment to their employees and this commitment to the community," Gracey said.
As a show of support to local nonprofits, Joe V's presented $10,000 checks each to Harmony Food Pantry & Resource Center, Duncanville ISD Panther Pantry and Duncanville Outreach Ministry.
Construction began in March on a second Joe V’s in Dallas at Buckner and Samuell boulevards. It is expected to open in early 2025.