H-E-B

About this location

A few stories people tell about this place

1. One morning, as customers were stocking up on groceries, H-E-B’s intercom crackled with an unusual announcement: ‘Attention shoppers, please be advised that our self-checkout aisle now recognizes when you smile.’ A regular customer, Mr. Jenkins, walked up to the smiling scanner and gave it his best toothy grin. The machine blinked red for a moment before announcing, 'Welcome back, Mr. Jenkins! Your smile is worth five cents off your total.' Everyone in line burst out laughing, including the cashier who had programmed the prank. As Mr. Jenkins paid for his groceries, he winked at her and said, 'I’ll see if I can smile my way through the whole store next time!'

2. One day, while a regular was browsing through the aisles, the store PA system suddenly announced: 'Attention, please be advised that our self-checkout scanner has detected an unauthorized smile.' The man looked around sheepishly and realized everyone in the store was smiling back at him. Embarrassed but amused, he quickly scanned his items and left. From then on, whenever someone smiled too widely at H-E-B, employees would wink knowingly and whisper, ‘Another contraband grin caught!’

3. Late one night, a delivery driver was unloading boxes in the backroom when he heard a strange humming noise coming from the freezer section. Curious, he peeked inside and saw nothing but rows of frozen vegetables. Then, out of nowhere, a can of enchilada sauce started rolling towards him, followed by a bag of tortilla chips. Startled, he ducked just as a box of chili con carne crashed onto the floor with a loud thud. Turning around, he noticed a sign above the door that read ‘H-E-B: When groceries come to life at night.’ Shaking his head, he shrugged it off as an overactive imagination—until his neighbor called the next day asking if he’d seen any flying tacos.

4. At dawn, when most stores are still closing their shutters, a H-E-B employee noticed something odd: the parking lot lights seemed to flicker in time with the hum of the refrigerated cases. Curious, he followed the eerie rhythm until he saw an old cart slowly rolling down the aisle, its wheels clicking like a metronome. Turns out, it was just a delivery driver adjusting his playlist—now everyone knows that H-E-B’s fridge hums to the beat of country music.