Grocers expand in fast-growing North Texas suburbs

MELISSA, Texas — At the halfway point between Downtown Dallas and the Oklahoma border, something of a Texas mecca emerges from the horizon. 

A Buc-ee’s and an H-E-B sit side-by-side off U.S. 75 in Melissa, built to serve the rapidly growing subdivisions and neighborhoods that have stampeded northward as the Metroplex booms.

Where there were once open fields and cows, there were now, on the morning of May 14, 450 people lining up to be the first to enter North Texas’s newest H-E-B in far-flung Collin County. 

H-E-B, like other grocers, is strategically expanding into high-growth areas at an unprecedented pace, data shows. The cult-favorite entered the North Texas market by opening two Collin County stores in 2022. By 2026, H-E-B will have opened 15 stores in North Texas and nearly half of them will be in Collin County.

RELATED: Not just H-E-B: Dozens of North Texas grocery stores are planned — here’s which ones and where

That doesn’t surprise Bob Young, the executive managing director of Weitzman, a commercial real estate firm based in Dallas. The group has studied commercial real estate trends in North Texas for decades and recently found that grocers are rushing to increase their investment here.

“Everybody wants to be here, and why do they want to be here? Commerce, growth, and accessibility,” Young said. “We’re a good place to be for businesses, for communities and, obviously, for grocers.”

Over the past five years, North Texas has added over half a million new residents. According to the latest census numbers, the Metroplex is home to four of the eight fastest-growing cities in the nation.

All those new people have to eat, and that’s where the grocers come in, Young said.

North Texas shoppers have displayed a level of enthusiasm for store openings that surprises even H-E-B’s leadership, said Juan-Carlos Ruck, executive vice president of H-E-B’s northwest division.

“There’s a real humble nature about the culture of H-E-B, and I think sometimes we’re slow to recognize that we probably have gotten a little bit bigger than we sometimes think,” Ruck said. “Even today, there were 450 people on our 8th store that we’re opening, waiting in line with the first one starting at I think 3 p.m. yesterday. We have something really special here that we have to take care of over time.”  

As North Texas continues to grow, data shows that grocers plan to keep investing in the fastest-growing areas of the Metroplex, Young said.  

“Retail follows rooftops,” Young added.

While Celina may have lost its crown as “fastest growing city in America” according to the latest census data, it’s still the No. 4 fastest growing city in the U.S.

The nearby city of Princeton, also in Collin County, took the top spot this year.

Retailers have taken notice, Anthony Satarino, executive director of the Celina Economic Development Corporation, said.

“Stores like Costco, Walmart, Lowe’s and Home Depot have all signed deals in the city of Celina in the last 3 years,” Satarino said. “We are in constant communication with just about every national (grocery) chain.”

Celina currently has one grocery store in town serving over 65,000 residents, Satarino said. The city is growing so fast that grocery stores in neighboring cities are often some of the highest-grossing stores in their respective companies, Satarino said.

“What we’re excited about is the opportunity to have grocery stores in Celina so that tax revenue and those sales stay within the city,” Satarino said.

Costco and Walmart are expected to open locations in Celina soon. Plus, a $250 million mixed-use development, which will likely be anchored by a grocery store, according to the Dallas Morning News. 

Grocery chains use several data points to determine where they will open their next store, Young said.

“The information they have, the data they have, the analysis they have has been escalating and growing year after year, after year,” Young said. “They have it down to a science. And they’re looking not just for growth or postal counts or whatever metric you want, but they are very, very savvy and they’re making plays on growth corridors.”

H-E-B’s new location in Melissa is at the intersection of Sam Rayburn Tollway and U.S. 75 and sits next to another of Texas’ favorite cult brands, Buc-ee’s.

“Our real estate team does an incredible job of locating us in the best possible places,” Satarino said. “I mean, this store is a perfect example.”

Over the past five years, grocers have generally chosen to build in high-growth suburban counties such as Collin County. Data from the Weitzman Group shows that the trend will likely continue over the next two years. 

Other grocers are also focused on opening new stores in high-growth areas. 

“We have a real estate team that is constantly evaluating markets, population and demographics.” John Votava, corporate affairs director with Kroger, said. “They want to make sure that we are looking for the right opportunities for Kroger to be placed where people need a Kroger.” 

While grocers prioritize emerging communities like Celina, some built-out communities in Dallas and Fort Worth have been passed over by retailers. A plan to build a Tom Thumb in southern Dallas recently fell through, leaving residents with fewer grocery choices.

However, increasing competition in the grocery industry will likely drive retailers to serve customers in urban areas that have historically been ignored by the grocery industry, Young said. 

A recent opening of a Sprouts in North Oak Cliff is an example of retailers choosing to invest in areas that were once labeled “risky,” Rob Darnell, vice president of research with the Weitzman Group, said. 

“I think the Sprouts in North Oak Cliff is a long time coming and is going to be very successful because North Oak Cliff is a very powerful market, and it’s historically a grocery desert,” Darnell said. “Everybody needs food, and everybody is going to spend money on food.” 

The data shows that retailers are increasingly looking to already built-out parts of the Metroplex. H-E-B, Sprouts, Target, and BJ’s Wholesale Club all have plans to open new stores in Dallas, Irving and Fort Worth.

The rapid expansion of grocers in the region may have also led to some closures, Darnell said. Kroger and Tom Thumb stores recently announced that several of their stores will close in Allen and McKinney. Darnell described those closures as “anomalies.” 

“Grocers in a trade area may not work in that same trade area when new competition is in town,” Darnell said. “Retail space is at a major premium… so that vacant grocer space is going to be snapped up very quickly by either another grocer or an entertainment concept.” 

When grocery stores come to high-growth areas, other types of businesses typically follow, Young said.

“They drive traffic to a given market and real estate around it becomes the beneficiary of that traffic,” Young said.

Weitzman found that grocery-anchored shopping centers had some of the highest occupancy rates of any other category of commercial real estate. That means the dry cleaners, restaurants and small stores tend to stay open when they’re located next to a grocery store.

The newly opened H-E-B in Melissa was built next to thousands of square feet of vacant commercial real estate, likely to be filled soon with other retailers.

“What you know when you open an HEB is that you’re going to get thousands of customers driving to this location each and every week, and so with that, then comes the traffic that goes along to all the other businesses, so it really is symbiotic,” Ruck said.

Since Walmart broke ground on its newest store in Celina, the city has received a lot of interest from other retailers looking to follow suit.

“It’s a big win all around when a grocery store decides to move in,” Satarino said.

Melissa, where Buc-ee’s and H-E-B form a Texas mecca on U.S. 75, was the 11th fastest growing city in the U.S. in 2024. Shoppers there said they’ve noticed the increase.  

“I mean, everywhere you turn there’s a grocery store… and I think the folks of Collin County love anything new and I think that’s what draws people in,” Nicole Gibson, an H-E-B shopper, said. 

Over the next several weeks, WFAA will explore in depth how retail follows the rooftops being built in DFW’s suburbs, how H-E-B’s entrance into the market affected the grocery industry, and how grocers are unveiling new technologies to meet the needs of demanding consumers.