FORT WORTH, Texas — There was some confusion Wednesday afternoon when a shopping mall and a Texas-based grocery company initially released some conflicting reports about a new grocery store.
Real estate developer Hillwood said Wednesday morning it would be expanding its 30,000-square-foot food and entertainment destination Parkside at Alliance Town Center with some new businesses, including Torchy’s Tacos, CAVA, Black Rifle Coffee Company and Dash Nail Spa.
The shopping mall also said these new stores would be "anchored" by the region's first H-E-B grocery store. These would all be located north of Heritage Trace on the east side of Hillwood Parkway, adjacent to Bluestem Park, a 14-acre oasis in the middle of Alliance Town Center.
Hillwood said they are planning to open these stores by early 2023.
However, when WFAA reached out to H-E-B on Wednesday afternoon, the grocery company said, "H-E-B has not announced a store in Fort Worth." H-E-B said it does own the land, but clarified the company has not announced any plans for the site "at this time."
Through the years, H-E-B has purchased a lot of property in many different parts of the state, leading to frequent speculation about where the next store will be. However, the grocery company has plenty of land that hasn't yet been turned into a store.
After WFAA received the updated information from H-E-B, Hillwood sent back a corrected release that said "Inadvertently we included H-E-B in our earlier release." The real estate developer went on to clarify that this area would be "anchored by a major grocer" and also that H-E-B has not announced a store "at this site nor a timeline for construction."
At 10:31 a.m. Wednesday, H-E-B's verified Twitter account commented on a Tweet that tagged the grocery store company, saying, "@HEB coming to Fort Worth right by my house! With gas being so high, I can walk to HEB."
H-E-B responded by saying, "Just wear a hat when you walk on over."
“Parkside at Alliance Town Center continues to be a destination for the region and I’m excited to welcome some new additions to serve our growing community,” said Mark Miller, senior vice president of retail development at Hillwood. “Torchy’s, CAVA, Black Rifle and Dash Nail Spa diversify our existing retail, restaurant and entertainment options, promoting strong community engagement and building upon Alliance Town Center’s vibrant atmosphere.”
Hillwood said Parkside at Alliance Town Center is designed to complement the surrounding natural environment and blend with Bluestem Park with easy access to walking and biking trails. The area will include patio spaces.
With the addition of Torchy’s, Cava, Black Rifle and Dash among others currently in negotiations, less than 3,000 square feet of retail space remains available at Parkside.