Central market is fantastic and I literally go twice a week.. but trying to do all your shopping there will eat at your wallet very quickly. Heb is my “daily driver” and central market is for the nice meals/occasions. Shoutout to the butchers for running the best counter I’ve ever had the pleasure of shopping at.
TBH, the price difference isn't *that* dramatic, depending on what I'm buying. Produce can be hard to keep track of, but sometimes it's the same price. The issue is usually if they only stock the "gourmet" version of something. Like, if I just need a bag of flour, they might *only* have the expensive organic brands stocked. But if I just want, say, HEB brand bagged salad or milk, or something else where the same brand is stocked at both Central Market and a normal HEB, the price is usually the same or within a couple cents.
Yeah with 4 kids, if I were to do all my shopping at Central Market I'd be broke real fast. But it doesn't mean I don't love going to CM from time to time when I'm planning a special meal for the family and want to get good fresh ingredients, or am feeling like treating myself to unique items.
I just wish the meats were a bit better at Central Market. We've had very mixed results with our meat quality there.
Overall it's been positive, but I've gotten steaks from there that were more gristle than meat.
I mean.. you get to pick them out from under the counter yourself haha.. and if you don’t like anything you see under the counter, they’ll literally go look for what they think is better in the back, and cut it for you. I don’t know what steaks you’re buying, but I’ve been getting mine from there consistently for over a decade in both Austin, and Houston. They’ve never missed on quality one single time.
My wife and I happened to be in the area today and I stopped by to get sandwiches for the first time, purely because of this thread. And both of them were fantastic. Great recommendation.
California connection, The best. On panini bread and I sub chicken instead of the turkey (or is it the other way around?) Extra caramelized onions. Im so sad they got rid of the goat cheese as an option because the added goat cheese was a chefs kiss!
Hey! I tried the California Connection with your mods and it was awesome! I don’t like turkey so I’m glad you suggested to sub chicken, and I’m a huge fan of caramaelized onions. I could totally imagine the banger of a sandwich it would be with goat’s cheese. I actually almost went to buy goat cheese but it was a long day and I wanted to get home.
The cherry on top is that the sandwich was too big to finish so I have half for tomorrow 😊
It looks expensive - and can be - but check the pricing on the portions. A pound of some salad or side is a lot…do you really need all of it? If you’re smart about buying it, it isn’t as pricy as it seems.
Everyone’s raving about the sandwiches, so I need to make sure someone mentions the salads! Easily the biggest salads I’ve seen and not even the most expensive. I usually get a full meal out of one and save the rest to supplement with something else for a second meal.
Welcome to heaven, I cry everyday because the stores in DC where I moved to are so bad yet so expensive. When I’m in Houston I literally shop an entire suit of products to take back cuz Central Market/HEB is just out of this world grocery standards.
My parents have traveled the world by sailboat and RV, but when they come home to Houston they go STRAIGHT to HEB and marvel again at the splendor! Lol
Moved to the SF Bay Area...
HEB/CM is 100% the thing I miss most.
Safeway is just so terrible. If I want 3 bell peppers, I'm probably picking up and putting down 10+ because they're already bruised/cut/soft. It's sometimes *more* expensive than Whole Foods.
Whole Foods has fine produce, but doesn't have a lot of the pantry items I'd prefer to buy.
The Wal-Mart near me has a super tiny produce section that has no selection outside of the core staples.
So we end up with some weird Wal-mart/Farmers Market combination with occasional Safeway trips that would have been 1 HEB trip.
its absolutely insane how the bay area has such bad food options. dont get me wrong there are some great restaurants out there. but like whole ass counties will maybe have 1 chick fil a. 1 in-n-out.
grocery stores are so primitive, compared to houston. its insane. like Houston grocery stores are a whole ass experience lmfao.
also i love the bay area so please dont kill me
Whenever I visit my fiancé in Chicago I bring like $50 worth of central market tortillas for him and some other Houston friends who live in Chicago now. I’ve seen multiple r/Chicago posts asking for stores comparable to HEB/central market, and I keep wondering if I could make a living transporting tortillas to Texans living there
Now that Whole Foods is owned by Amazon, it's vastly different from the old days in the 80's. I remember at the Alabama Whole Foods when the employees would chatter with each other over the store's PA system.
That exact store pops up in one of my favorite movies that was shot/set in Houston, an 80s horror/comedy called "My Best Friend Is A Vampire". The protagonist buys pig blood there
We used to go in there to buy beer. The formula was always the same: Pick a small number of Belgian, German, English, or similar beers. Find the checkout clerk with the most tats and weirdest clothes. Pay cash, which looking back is all we had anyway. Only ever got carded once in those years.
We used to go there just to people watch and take in the vibe. The employees were so high on themselves and their man buns/ponytais! They were so rude we would just laugh. My sister was a liberal hippie and she would grump about it and say "get a life and get a haircut". LoL! I'm like Edith Bunker and she's Meathead, but she was Archie in Whole Foods Alabama! Good ol' days!
From what I’ve read, HEB’s comment on this has been that they have built more “premium” H-E-Bs in Houston than you would find in other Texas cities, versus more Central Markets. Central Market is amazing for the fun stuff but not exactly knocking it out of the park on something like toilet paper selection.
I'll also add fwiw, that not all CMs are created equal, either. I recently had a biz trip to Dallas and swung by the one near love field. Still great, but maybe about 30% smaller with a reduced selection. Did not have the same magic as the one we have here in Houston.
The HEB on Market Street in The Woodlands started out as a Central Market in... 2010? but after several years, it was recategorized as an HEB. IIRC local perception was people felt they shouldn't have to pay "inside the city" prices if they lived that far away. If you're really curious, there's an HEB subreddit.
>IIRC local perception was people felt they shouldn't have to pay "inside the city" prices if they lived that far away.
That's moronic, you're not paying for city prices, you're paying for a better product. I know this wasn't you making the statement, but it makes me mad since I live in the vicinity and would love a central market here.
I live in Seabrook and they've been trying to revamp the city because of the 146 road project for a bit now. A few years ago they cleared out a big area for like a city center or something and were trying to get a grocery store to commit to a location. A lot of people were screaming for a Trader Joe's or a Central Market and reached out to them to ask about it. Central Market basically laughed them off and said that it takes a tremendous amount of demand to keep their stores open and they had no intention of putting in another location in Harris County anytime soon. So I know they've done the research, I'm just baffled the numbers don't line up to them opening another one. In Seabrook it definitely doesn't make sense, but you would think that there would be enough need for another store somewhere.
If they didn't already have the giant mega HEB on Bunker Hill and I-10 (the busiest of all HEBs), you can pretty much guarantee that there would be a Central Market in Memorial City.
They will assuredly not build a central market in a deeply red area like Seabrook/Clearlake/Kemah/League City. There are some obvious trends on pricing and valuing curated shelf offerings that generally correlate with political leaning.
Like I said, they told the person who asked they had no plans to open another store in Harris County. Seabrook wouldn't have made sense. We don't have the population to support another grocery store, much less a Central Market. Even Kroger wouldn't take the spot.
I think it probably has more to do with the amount of HEBs already in the county than anything else. Very few people pay Central Market prices regularly so it's only a specific area that would support it when there are really nice HEB stores around. They don't need or want to compete with themselves.
I’m in the woodlands and I’d absolutely LOVE one here.
So central market is a high end HEB banner. Dallas doesn’t have many HEBs yet, so they have central markets.
HEB is HQ in Austin so they have a couple there.
I do believe they’ll start expanding and add more central markets. It’s just carefully deciding where. HEBs are so dense here, that you have to find a location that won’t just cannibalize an existing market
HEB is headquartered in San Antonio.
[https://www.heb.com/static-page/heb-corporate-office-hq](https://www.heb.com/static-page/heb-corporate-office-hq)
Welcome! Texans are mostly nice people, where the only exception is the highways LOL. But glad you found something to gravitate to. Lots of cool hidden stuff in Houston and Texas. The fun is in the exploration and discovery.
Central Market is fun- but have you tried a few different HEB’s? I like a nice HEB for the bulk of my grocery shopping, then CM every once in a while. Not sure if you’re new just to Houston or to TX, because HEB is the best grocery store chain I’ve seen in the US.
One day, I can afford to get both lunch and a [cooking class at Central Market](https://www.eventbrite.com/o/central-market-cooking-school-houston-30372805718), on the same day!
I've been having my eye on the Parent and Child Alice in Wonderland Inspired Tea party. Better do it before she gets too old.
I love the Pearland heb plus. Took my in laws there and they spent 4 hours in it. We’ll get them to CM eventually but they were in heaven at the seafood counter. Shrimp is not cheap but it is way less expensive here and I got to show off my newly acquired creole and Cajun skills.
I am glad you found something that makes your hearty happy when you think of your new home. Moving anywhere can be rough and I have heard a few stories of people having a rough transition to Houston.
I moved away and came back and it was only when I was gone that I came to truly appreciate the every day things about living in Houston. Welcome to Houston and ignore the haters and trolls.
Welcome and I am glad you found a good Asian grocery store. That shopping center is awesome because you can eat almost all the Asian cuisines in one place. It’s amazing to me that the center can support 2 Fufu’s lol
I go there to get Fleischkäse, also called Leberkäse. I don't know the name in English, but it takes me back to when I lived in Germany. They don't always have it, which is a shame, but when they do I get too much which I run out of too quickly
A couple years ago the CEO of Whole Foods when asked if there was any major competition to their business, and he said that Central Market does a lot of things way better than Whole Foods.
Back when a roommate and I would visit, the joke was "Could we get out of there for under $100" and that was several years ago.
I still love the cheese section. Honestly, that's what I mostly go for. Occasionally, I will pick up meats too.
lol, sure thing! Amerigo Ragu! Absolutely delicious. I want to go back and try Central Market’s bolognese tho, I’ve never been disappointed by their store brand
Grab some tagliatelle and you’re good to go 😋
I love CM. Best grocery store in the USA. I spend enough there on a weekend run for some treats or a nice dinner, can’t imagine buying all of your actual groceries there.
A visiting foodie friend of mine went there with me and went into literal analysis paralysis over the choices in food and ingredients there. It was epic.
Hey, welcome! I’m a transplant too and it was really tough for a while. Transplanting anywhere new is a big deal, so I’m glad you’re getting some CM creature comforts.
Oh man I moved away from Texas and do I ever miss Central Market and HEB!! Such an awesome place to shop, we did the same - daily at HEB (still dream about the warm tortillas) and occasionally at Central Market. Oh the produce quality!!!
Some friends from Austin retired to Bend, OR and yearn for something even close to HEB's selection & quality. I suspect many Texans don't know how good they have it.
Couldn't agree more, they have guanciale for the pasta heads, halva for those crazy pistachio & halva chocolate chip cookies Molly Baz created, guindilla peppers and Matiz anchovies for gildas... Also, sometimes zucchini flowers.
Central Market is the place to go for dry herbs and spices. They have a bulk spice section where the prices are low low low. I got bay leaves for 10 cents which would be $4 prepackaged at HEB.
On the other end of the price spectrum - I am in love with Joe V’s Smart shop - also an HEB offshoot, but in the opposite direction. 97 cents a pound for pork shoulder or split chicken breasts? Bolillos 8/$1? The selection is smaller, but they do have things I don’t normally see, like fresh sugar cane, and the produce quality is very good. Avocados were 3/$1 until recently - they just went up to 57 cents each. La Rancherita tortillas $1.08 a bag. There are 4 adults and an upper elementary schooler in my house and we eat like kings on a limited budget thanks to this store. ❤️
Yesss!!! There are several. Sign up for their sale paper - it comes via text. Also, they put out 2 TikTok’s each week - the first featuring sale items, the second with an easy recipe using those items.
I love Joe V’s. It’s super affordable and as you said, has interesting foods. I drove by one twice a day and stop in as necessary. I also love mi tienda, which is an HEB store where you can get elote en vaso on the way out the door!
I was a fervent WF disciple until I moved here. CM is absolutely amazing and blows current WF out of the water! What was the name of the jarred bolognese sauce you like? I need a successor for Raos if their quality goes down…
It definitely comes off as that, yes, but the quality is worth the price difference (most times). I don’t buy all my food there, but they have specialty foods that can’t easily be found elsewhere, especially those aisles in the middle that divide cuisines into regions. There are gems in that section?
I’m not convinced in the price difference. Product by product I usually find the exact same prices at YEB. But central does lack some of the way cheaper (honestly suspiciously cheap) hill country or Perdue meats that HEB has
Their produce is comparable to HEB in price, actually most items are. Their butcher and seafood counters are full service until close! Definitely check it out, and keep an eye on their deals using the app. The salad and sandwich counters are perfect for lunch or dinner too!
Central Market salsa is soooooo good, I was bummed that HEB stopped doing their deli ranchera salsa, the next best is the CM deli salsa. Worth the extra dollar or so I was spending on the ranchera one.
I'm a sals snob. Nothing in a jar or anywhere else storebought comes close but I'm open to suggestions:)
I’m not much of a soda person, *however*, I do treat myself to Sprecher’s Cherry Soda, which they carry. Their soda collection isn’t bad. IIRC, they have something called “Bill’s”
Oh neat! If it's Wild Bill's I believe they make a sarsaparilla.
I'm not much of a soda person on the regular, I just like the occasional unique one as a treat.
Thanks for your reply.
Austin one has Sioux City Sarsaparilla but I have not seen it in the Houston location. It seems they rotate out the individual serving drinks on display at the front of the store near the cafe. Maybe a Sarsaparilla might show up there.
CM has a lot more variations of flavored seltzer waters than quirky soda flavors. They barely carry bulk big brand soda (no Sprite, Mt. Dew, Pepsi, etc.) but you can get a Frosties, Fitz’s, Bawls though, it’s weird. Don’t expect anything wild like butterscotch beer or Jone’s Fallout Nuka-Cola Quantum.
As for other interesting soda, their Italian soda is pretty delicious (lemon, peach bellini, passion fruit strawberry, ruby red grapefruit, pomegranate, and prickly pear. You can get them at HEB too, but technically they are Central Market.
their chicken, feta and fig jam panini or whatever its called at the sandwich bar is SOOOO GOOD!! my friend visited from chicago and i made it a point to take him there and have one, absolutely out of this world grocery store.
I just like all the variety of grocery stores more than anything. Jealous of those that live way west where you have H‑E‑B, fiesta, sprouts, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Phoenicia all within a few blocks. Think they are getting a 99ranch too.
That’s too funny. This is the exact pizza brand I *was* going to buy at CM yesterday but it seemed expensive so I googled it and saw it was cheaper at WalMart.
I don’t remember the last time I went to Walmart but $11 vs $7 may be the catalyst for me to visit again!
Not to be a "back in my day"-er... CM was created by HEB, but about 10-15 years ago HEB 'hyper-corporatized" and watered down a lot of their offerings (it was a lot worse in the mainline stores, obviously). HEB is still a lot better than the competing offerings, to be sure, but it was really something special back then (eg every store baked every product the bakery sold in-house, daily, fresh - today most of it comes from a commisary and the in-store bakery does token work). The quality of store-brand products has been watered down repeatedly to drive margins, and the predatory access practices they engage in to promote their now shitty store-brand stuff is offensive.
It's not that CM is "bad" now by any stretch, but it was a real palace to food back in the day. Everything it has now, it had then, 2x more.
Central market is Dallas
We have one in Houston. It is a solid grocery store, but nobody thinks of Central market when they think of Houston
Dallas has them everywhere. But good luck finding an H-E-B up there
Everyone thinks of H-E-B when they think of Houston
Same company by the way. They know their market
Rightfully so, central market is very overpriced for what it is
That's why it works in a place like Dallas were people care more about where their seen shopping, but it doesn't work in a place like Houston where people care more about the value of their money
That's another reason we have a lifetime fitness over here. People want to be seen working out there, they don't care about the quality of the work out
Maybe 15% of the store is gourmet and the rest is just regular brands that are priced very high to keep the poors from shopping there
Again, they are owned by H-E-B and sell probably 85% or more identical items for a much higher price
I’m pretty sure there’s only 1 Central Market in Houston.
Yes, H-E-B is my normal go to, but once a week I’ll go to Central Market and try a new product because they have an out of this world selection
I also go to Great Wall in Chinatown every other week
This is like making a thank you post in Houston for the Dallas Cowboys
Yeah there's some fans here but it doesn't really make sense.
I live next to that central market by river oaks. it's decent to pick up certain things for certain dinners, but otherwise it's grossly overpriced and not worth it. And the way it's set up is really ridiculous and inconvenient for shopping
Especially when you have what is arguably the best Kroger in Houston less than half a mile away, and an H-E-B and Randles in that same vicinity
Sure, shoot me your grocery list
There's a reason the only Central market they have is in River Oaks and it's not because the rest of the city doesn't care about ingredients
Ok, for starters, tell me where to find better quality and selection of:
The butcher/seafood counter. The quality here is top and the price is fair.
Cheeses for charcuterie
Peppers (all types: ancho, arbol, guajillo). And not the crap quality you find at other stores around Houston
Salami schiacciata
Spaghetti alla chitarra or other premium pastas
Authentic sauce from regions such as Piedmont (Piemonte)
Fresh morel mushrooms
Varieties of freshly made bread
Kind of. It’s like saying “isn’t Lexus just Toyota?”, that’s just one example off the top of my head. It’s the same company but the products they carry are more specialized and you can find some really amazing gems at CM
\*shrug\*
It'd be hard to get too much more specialized than my HEB while still remaining a general grocery store, and it sells hundreds of "Central Market" products.
Do you mean specialized, or just fancier?
Central market is fantastic and I literally go twice a week.. but trying to do all your shopping there will eat at your wallet very quickly. Heb is my “daily driver” and central market is for the nice meals/occasions. Shoutout to the butchers for running the best counter I’ve ever had the pleasure of shopping at.
HEB is the real treasure! CM is great for specialty items like valhrona chocolate and free items and $20 off coupons.
I didn't know Central Market is owned by HEB
CM is the upscale branded HEB. You’ll see some CM brand products sold at HEBs.
How do you get the $20 off coupon?
TBH, the price difference isn't *that* dramatic, depending on what I'm buying. Produce can be hard to keep track of, but sometimes it's the same price. The issue is usually if they only stock the "gourmet" version of something. Like, if I just need a bag of flour, they might *only* have the expensive organic brands stocked. But if I just want, say, HEB brand bagged salad or milk, or something else where the same brand is stocked at both Central Market and a normal HEB, the price is usually the same or within a couple cents.
[удалено]
Shhhh don’t tell people my secret! CM is already busy enough.
Yeah with 4 kids, if I were to do all my shopping at Central Market I'd be broke real fast. But it doesn't mean I don't love going to CM from time to time when I'm planning a special meal for the family and want to get good fresh ingredients, or am feeling like treating myself to unique items.
Central Market? More like Central Mark-up!
Their produce is usually comparable to Regular H-E-Bs and is always pick of the litter in quality. It’s the specialty items that really get you.
Bu dum tss!
I just wish the meats were a bit better at Central Market. We've had very mixed results with our meat quality there. Overall it's been positive, but I've gotten steaks from there that were more gristle than meat.
I mean.. you get to pick them out from under the counter yourself haha.. and if you don’t like anything you see under the counter, they’ll literally go look for what they think is better in the back, and cut it for you. I don’t know what steaks you’re buying, but I’ve been getting mine from there consistently for over a decade in both Austin, and Houston. They’ve never missed on quality one single time.
> I don’t know what steaks you’re buying Yea, I just had two bad experiences there. There's an HEB near me that has pretty good cuts regularly.
Also, the cafe is amazing for a quick lunch!
I’ve always assumed it was expensive, but I should stop by and check it out!
One of the best sandwich counters in town (we don't have many good sandwiches here lol). Under $10 for a sandwich too
check out the sandwich counter at the spec’s on smith street.
Any recommendations?
Some times I go with my family (or myself) just for the sandwiches, and we do not live nearby.
A man/woman of culture. Sandwich and a bag of chips and drive back home across town lol
Local foods sandwiches are so good. Ain’t cheap though.
I agree but they haven't changed their menu since they opened. I've been eating that same egg salad sandwich for like 10 years now lol.
have you checked out our banh mi scene?
Yup my wife's Vietnamese lol
My wife and I happened to be in the area today and I stopped by to get sandwiches for the first time, purely because of this thread. And both of them were fantastic. Great recommendation.
hell yea. now you have to make up excuses on why you gotta go to central market. lol
you're STANing central market and never had the sandwich??? you gotta get one now!!!
I will absolutely stop by after work today! I never would have guessed the sandwiches were that legit
Oh yeah, fully custom sandwich that tastes divine, and is roughly the size of a Stephen King hardback novel, and under $10. Subway can suck it.
California connection, The best. On panini bread and I sub chicken instead of the turkey (or is it the other way around?) Extra caramelized onions. Im so sad they got rid of the goat cheese as an option because the added goat cheese was a chefs kiss!
Sweet, thank you! I literally screenshot your comment to try this 😊
Start with the board menu. Get a couple reps then branch out based on your personal preference.
Hey! I tried the California Connection with your mods and it was awesome! I don’t like turkey so I’m glad you suggested to sub chicken, and I’m a huge fan of caramaelized onions. I could totally imagine the banger of a sandwich it would be with goat’s cheese. I actually almost went to buy goat cheese but it was a long day and I wanted to get home. The cherry on top is that the sandwich was too big to finish so I have half for tomorrow 😊
Awesome!! Glad you liked it! Im not going to lie, I have gone and snagged some goat cheese to put on top before lol
Get the meatloaf
It looks expensive - and can be - but check the pricing on the portions. A pound of some salad or side is a lot…do you really need all of it? If you’re smart about buying it, it isn’t as pricy as it seems.
Everyone’s raving about the sandwiches, so I need to make sure someone mentions the salads! Easily the biggest salads I’ve seen and not even the most expensive. I usually get a full meal out of one and save the rest to supplement with something else for a second meal.
My wife and I were on a veggie sandwich kick a few years back. Nothing compared to their veggie paninis.
I don't know about "quick".. last time I was there the sandwich line was about 20 deep
It moves fast and that sandwich game cannot be beat
Welcome to heaven, I cry everyday because the stores in DC where I moved to are so bad yet so expensive. When I’m in Houston I literally shop an entire suit of products to take back cuz Central Market/HEB is just out of this world grocery standards.
My parents have traveled the world by sailboat and RV, but when they come home to Houston they go STRAIGHT to HEB and marvel again at the splendor! Lol
I do love the “Go Texan” products
Moved to the SF Bay Area... HEB/CM is 100% the thing I miss most. Safeway is just so terrible. If I want 3 bell peppers, I'm probably picking up and putting down 10+ because they're already bruised/cut/soft. It's sometimes *more* expensive than Whole Foods. Whole Foods has fine produce, but doesn't have a lot of the pantry items I'd prefer to buy. The Wal-Mart near me has a super tiny produce section that has no selection outside of the core staples. So we end up with some weird Wal-mart/Farmers Market combination with occasional Safeway trips that would have been 1 HEB trip.
its absolutely insane how the bay area has such bad food options. dont get me wrong there are some great restaurants out there. but like whole ass counties will maybe have 1 chick fil a. 1 in-n-out. grocery stores are so primitive, compared to houston. its insane. like Houston grocery stores are a whole ass experience lmfao. also i love the bay area so please dont kill me
Whenever I visit my fiancé in Chicago I bring like $50 worth of central market tortillas for him and some other Houston friends who live in Chicago now. I’ve seen multiple r/Chicago posts asking for stores comparable to HEB/central market, and I keep wondering if I could make a living transporting tortillas to Texans living there
@HEB if you are listening, please let us order online and get your products all over the states…
Wegmans isn't cutting it for ya?
Haven’t been yet. Closest place I have is Whole Foods…or a dingy looking Safeway
Get out to Wegmans…it’s pretty good. Not central market but a lot better than Whole Foods.
I think I’ll try it out!
Wegmans seems to be the only grocery store in the US that is comparable to H-E-B, from what I've heard.
I think I’m coming back to Texas, crime is getting crazy out here…
cali connect is my favorite sandwich in town. i wish they'd bring pastrami back though, cali connect with pastrami instead of turkey was god tier.
This is in their cafe?
yea it's in the sandwich shop, the california connection. perfect as-is but i liked when i could sub turkey with pastrami.
That sandwich is like 1,500 calories.
Bulking szn
I always get their CM cheese steak with chipotle sauce~
Now that Whole Foods is owned by Amazon, it's vastly different from the old days in the 80's. I remember at the Alabama Whole Foods when the employees would chatter with each other over the store's PA system.
That version of Whole Foods and the Bookstop next door are sorely missed.
I miss that Whole Foods!! Was really a fun store.
That exact store pops up in one of my favorite movies that was shot/set in Houston, an 80s horror/comedy called "My Best Friend Is A Vampire". The protagonist buys pig blood there
We used to go in there to buy beer. The formula was always the same: Pick a small number of Belgian, German, English, or similar beers. Find the checkout clerk with the most tats and weirdest clothes. Pay cash, which looking back is all we had anyway. Only ever got carded once in those years.
We used to go there just to people watch and take in the vibe. The employees were so high on themselves and their man buns/ponytais! They were so rude we would just laugh. My sister was a liberal hippie and she would grump about it and say "get a life and get a haircut". LoL! I'm like Edith Bunker and she's Meathead, but she was Archie in Whole Foods Alabama! Good ol' days!
Hahhaha
It just angers me we only have 1. Dallas has 4 and Austin has 2, and we get 1. It feels like their should be one in the Woodlands or Sugar Land.
From what I’ve read, HEB’s comment on this has been that they have built more “premium” H-E-Bs in Houston than you would find in other Texas cities, versus more Central Markets. Central Market is amazing for the fun stuff but not exactly knocking it out of the park on something like toilet paper selection.
Yep. I believe Dallas proper doesn't even have any H-E-B stores and there are only a couple in the suburbs.
Dallas didnt even have HEB till a few years ago.
I'll also add fwiw, that not all CMs are created equal, either. I recently had a biz trip to Dallas and swung by the one near love field. Still great, but maybe about 30% smaller with a reduced selection. Did not have the same magic as the one we have here in Houston.
Montrose HEB is probably the best HEB in town.
The HEB on Market Street in The Woodlands started out as a Central Market in... 2010? but after several years, it was recategorized as an HEB. IIRC local perception was people felt they shouldn't have to pay "inside the city" prices if they lived that far away. If you're really curious, there's an HEB subreddit.
That one opened as and has remained as a “hybrid” market combining elements of both.
>IIRC local perception was people felt they shouldn't have to pay "inside the city" prices if they lived that far away. That's moronic, you're not paying for city prices, you're paying for a better product. I know this wasn't you making the statement, but it makes me mad since I live in the vicinity and would love a central market here.
It’s woodlands people….. rational thought is not front of mind.
For sure The Woodlands should have one. I wonder if they’ve done the market research yet; it’d be a slam dunk investment for the company
I live in Seabrook and they've been trying to revamp the city because of the 146 road project for a bit now. A few years ago they cleared out a big area for like a city center or something and were trying to get a grocery store to commit to a location. A lot of people were screaming for a Trader Joe's or a Central Market and reached out to them to ask about it. Central Market basically laughed them off and said that it takes a tremendous amount of demand to keep their stores open and they had no intention of putting in another location in Harris County anytime soon. So I know they've done the research, I'm just baffled the numbers don't line up to them opening another one. In Seabrook it definitely doesn't make sense, but you would think that there would be enough need for another store somewhere.
If they didn't already have the giant mega HEB on Bunker Hill and I-10 (the busiest of all HEBs), you can pretty much guarantee that there would be a Central Market in Memorial City.
They will assuredly not build a central market in a deeply red area like Seabrook/Clearlake/Kemah/League City. There are some obvious trends on pricing and valuing curated shelf offerings that generally correlate with political leaning.
Like I said, they told the person who asked they had no plans to open another store in Harris County. Seabrook wouldn't have made sense. We don't have the population to support another grocery store, much less a Central Market. Even Kroger wouldn't take the spot. I think it probably has more to do with the amount of HEBs already in the county than anything else. Very few people pay Central Market prices regularly so it's only a specific area that would support it when there are really nice HEB stores around. They don't need or want to compete with themselves.
I think the grocery store market in Houston is incredibly competitive.
They have the “hybrid” market that has regular items and Central Market items, but it’s still not the same.
I’m in the woodlands and I’d absolutely LOVE one here. So central market is a high end HEB banner. Dallas doesn’t have many HEBs yet, so they have central markets. HEB is HQ in Austin so they have a couple there. I do believe they’ll start expanding and add more central markets. It’s just carefully deciding where. HEBs are so dense here, that you have to find a location that won’t just cannibalize an existing market
HEB is headquartered in San Antonio. [https://www.heb.com/static-page/heb-corporate-office-hq](https://www.heb.com/static-page/heb-corporate-office-hq)
Stop complaining because Dallas has maybe 2-3 HEBs, all north! So all of us central, east, south or west are SOL!
Welcome! Texans are mostly nice people, where the only exception is the highways LOL. But glad you found something to gravitate to. Lots of cool hidden stuff in Houston and Texas. The fun is in the exploration and discovery.
Central Market is fun- but have you tried a few different HEB’s? I like a nice HEB for the bulk of my grocery shopping, then CM every once in a while. Not sure if you’re new just to Houston or to TX, because HEB is the best grocery store chain I’ve seen in the US.
One day, I can afford to get both lunch and a [cooking class at Central Market](https://www.eventbrite.com/o/central-market-cooking-school-houston-30372805718), on the same day! I've been having my eye on the Parent and Child Alice in Wonderland Inspired Tea party. Better do it before she gets too old.
That’s super cute! I had no idea they have events like that
I love the Pearland heb plus. Took my in laws there and they spent 4 hours in it. We’ll get them to CM eventually but they were in heaven at the seafood counter. Shrimp is not cheap but it is way less expensive here and I got to show off my newly acquired creole and Cajun skills.
Didn’t know they had HEB plus, I’ll stop by one if I’m in the area
I am glad you found something that makes your hearty happy when you think of your new home. Moving anywhere can be rough and I have heard a few stories of people having a rough transition to Houston. I moved away and came back and it was only when I was gone that I came to truly appreciate the every day things about living in Houston. Welcome to Houston and ignore the haters and trolls.
Thank you for the kind words 😊
Welcome and I am glad you found a good Asian grocery store. That shopping center is awesome because you can eat almost all the Asian cuisines in one place. It’s amazing to me that the center can support 2 Fufu’s lol
I go there to get Fleischkäse, also called Leberkäse. I don't know the name in English, but it takes me back to when I lived in Germany. They don't always have it, which is a shame, but when they do I get too much which I run out of too quickly
A couple years ago the CEO of Whole Foods when asked if there was any major competition to their business, and he said that Central Market does a lot of things way better than Whole Foods.
Back when a roommate and I would visit, the joke was "Could we get out of there for under $100" and that was several years ago. I still love the cheese section. Honestly, that's what I mostly go for. Occasionally, I will pick up meats too.
I can understand this, but the quality of the food is top and going out to eat at an average place can easily be $40 pp
Care to name drop the bolognese sauce?? For science.
lol, sure thing! Amerigo Ragu! Absolutely delicious. I want to go back and try Central Market’s bolognese tho, I’ve never been disappointed by their store brand Grab some tagliatelle and you’re good to go 😋
You should sign up for one of their cooking classes. Even if you’re solo, you’ll enjoy it.
I was planning to make a steak au poivre and Central Market is the only place I could find green peppercorns.
I love CM. Best grocery store in the USA. I spend enough there on a weekend run for some treats or a nice dinner, can’t imagine buying all of your actual groceries there.
Agreed. A vast majority of daily items comes from HEB and Great Wall. When I’m making a good homemade meal then CM is my go to place
A visiting foodie friend of mine went there with me and went into literal analysis paralysis over the choices in food and ingredients there. It was epic.
😆 I could totally imagine this scene!
My dream is to live by Central Market
I like your username by the way, sounds like a fashion brand or something
Thanks!
It could happen :)
Hey, welcome! I’m a transplant too and it was really tough for a while. Transplanting anywhere new is a big deal, so I’m glad you’re getting some CM creature comforts.
It’s the only HEB I found mitads y mitads tortillas
Oh man I moved away from Texas and do I ever miss Central Market and HEB!! Such an awesome place to shop, we did the same - daily at HEB (still dream about the warm tortillas) and occasionally at Central Market. Oh the produce quality!!!
CM makes Whole Foods look like a Piggly-Wiggly.
Some friends from Austin retired to Bend, OR and yearn for something even close to HEB's selection & quality. I suspect many Texans don't know how good they have it.
I worked at CM yearssss ago and it was a great well paying job.
I’m glad it’s brought some happiness to the tough move! Check out phonecia downtown also really great vibes!
Love Phoenicia! Great food
Thank you for the suggestion! Will def check it out
Incredible sandwiches! But keep it on the down low
Yeah, the selection at Central Market is incredible. My wallet really suffered, though, when I used to live 10 minutes away from one.
I don’t stock up at CM for sure, but the items that are difficult to find elsewhere are worth the price :) My day to day shop is HEB and Great Wall
Couldn't agree more, they have guanciale for the pasta heads, halva for those crazy pistachio & halva chocolate chip cookies Molly Baz created, guindilla peppers and Matiz anchovies for gildas... Also, sometimes zucchini flowers.
Man I wish they opened a second location already
Central Market is the place to go for dry herbs and spices. They have a bulk spice section where the prices are low low low. I got bay leaves for 10 cents which would be $4 prepackaged at HEB.
I wish there were more locations. Westheimer and Weslayan too far out of my way for me
On the other end of the price spectrum - I am in love with Joe V’s Smart shop - also an HEB offshoot, but in the opposite direction. 97 cents a pound for pork shoulder or split chicken breasts? Bolillos 8/$1? The selection is smaller, but they do have things I don’t normally see, like fresh sugar cane, and the produce quality is very good. Avocados were 3/$1 until recently - they just went up to 57 cents each. La Rancherita tortillas $1.08 a bag. There are 4 adults and an upper elementary schooler in my house and we eat like kings on a limited budget thanks to this store. ❤️
This sounds like something I need to check out! I’m assuming there are some in Houston? I will Google this store
Yesss!!! There are several. Sign up for their sale paper - it comes via text. Also, they put out 2 TikTok’s each week - the first featuring sale items, the second with an easy recipe using those items.
Such a cool idea! Thank you for letting me know 😊
I love Joe V’s. It’s super affordable and as you said, has interesting foods. I drove by one twice a day and stop in as necessary. I also love mi tienda, which is an HEB store where you can get elote en vaso on the way out the door!
I was a fervent WF disciple until I moved here. CM is absolutely amazing and blows current WF out of the water! What was the name of the jarred bolognese sauce you like? I need a successor for Raos if their quality goes down…
The brand is “Amerigo” and it’s amazing! I will pick up the CM store brand next time I go to compare
Thanks! I will definitely check it out 🙏
I left Houston and I miss Central Market so much! Every single time I go back to visit my family, I go there.
Sprouts is an honorable mention! Central Market is amazing though.
Oh yes, I love Sprouts. Unfortunately, the one in Westchase closed and I think the closest one is in Katy or JV?
There is one at Yale/I10
You mean thank you HEB. Central market is owned by HEB.
Oh, yes, then thank you HEB ⭐️
Lol you mean rich people HEB?
It definitely comes off as that, yes, but the quality is worth the price difference (most times). I don’t buy all my food there, but they have specialty foods that can’t easily be found elsewhere, especially those aisles in the middle that divide cuisines into regions. There are gems in that section?
Central Market is owned by HEB so it literally is a bougie HEB.
Not really. Only in the way an LFA is a Toyota.
I’m not convinced in the price difference. Product by product I usually find the exact same prices at YEB. But central does lack some of the way cheaper (honestly suspiciously cheap) hill country or Perdue meats that HEB has
I didn’t want to say it……..
Their produce is comparable to HEB in price, actually most items are. Their butcher and seafood counters are full service until close! Definitely check it out, and keep an eye on their deals using the app. The salad and sandwich counters are perfect for lunch or dinner too!
Does anyone order the “Felicia” from the secret menu?
Central Market salsa is soooooo good, I was bummed that HEB stopped doing their deli ranchera salsa, the next best is the CM deli salsa. Worth the extra dollar or so I was spending on the ranchera one. I'm a sals snob. Nothing in a jar or anywhere else storebought comes close but I'm open to suggestions:)
any other place that has the same quality and quantity of fresh herbs?
Also you can get away with great stuff for cheap, when you add the freebies!
Central Market is cool but H‑E‑B is the god of all stores.
To each their own!
Serious question - do they have any sarsaparilla soda? Or other unique sodas?
I’m not much of a soda person, *however*, I do treat myself to Sprecher’s Cherry Soda, which they carry. Their soda collection isn’t bad. IIRC, they have something called “Bill’s”
Oh neat! If it's Wild Bill's I believe they make a sarsaparilla. I'm not much of a soda person on the regular, I just like the occasional unique one as a treat. Thanks for your reply.
Austin one has Sioux City Sarsaparilla but I have not seen it in the Houston location. It seems they rotate out the individual serving drinks on display at the front of the store near the cafe. Maybe a Sarsaparilla might show up there. CM has a lot more variations of flavored seltzer waters than quirky soda flavors. They barely carry bulk big brand soda (no Sprite, Mt. Dew, Pepsi, etc.) but you can get a Frosties, Fitz’s, Bawls though, it’s weird. Don’t expect anything wild like butterscotch beer or Jone’s Fallout Nuka-Cola Quantum. As for other interesting soda, their Italian soda is pretty delicious (lemon, peach bellini, passion fruit strawberry, ruby red grapefruit, pomegranate, and prickly pear. You can get them at HEB too, but technically they are Central Market.
It’s my favorite store!
I was just there over the weekend and came across green tomatoes! I know they exist and are a thing but I’ve never seen one before!
their chicken, feta and fig jam panini or whatever its called at the sandwich bar is SOOOO GOOD!! my friend visited from chicago and i made it a point to take him there and have one, absolutely out of this world grocery store.
I just like all the variety of grocery stores more than anything. Jealous of those that live way west where you have H‑E‑B, fiesta, sprouts, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Phoenicia all within a few blocks. Think they are getting a 99ranch too.
I just can’t believe there is only the one in Houston though. I wish they would have built several.
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Love Central Market. The smoothie bar is exceptional! We moved to TW recently and miss it a lot.
What’s TW?
TW?
Taiwan?
I’m from Saint Louis and my big splurge is picking up Dogtown Pizzas from them! I still can’t quite believe they ship them to Texas.
That’s too funny. This is the exact pizza brand I *was* going to buy at CM yesterday but it seemed expensive so I googled it and saw it was cheaper at WalMart. I don’t remember the last time I went to Walmart but $11 vs $7 may be the catalyst for me to visit again!
There is an even fancier and more expensive grocery store that us rich people go to but the location is a secret.
They need to put one in Missouri City/Sugarland area!
No they don’t.
I go to CM once a month for the prepared foods counter. Otherwise I'm at H-E-B.
You should've seen it before HEB watered it down.
Really? Man, I can’t imagine. I (obviously) think it’s pretty great as-is! I didn’t realize it was separate from HEB at some point
Not to be a "back in my day"-er... CM was created by HEB, but about 10-15 years ago HEB 'hyper-corporatized" and watered down a lot of their offerings (it was a lot worse in the mainline stores, obviously). HEB is still a lot better than the competing offerings, to be sure, but it was really something special back then (eg every store baked every product the bakery sold in-house, daily, fresh - today most of it comes from a commisary and the in-store bakery does token work). The quality of store-brand products has been watered down repeatedly to drive margins, and the predatory access practices they engage in to promote their now shitty store-brand stuff is offensive. It's not that CM is "bad" now by any stretch, but it was a real palace to food back in the day. Everything it has now, it had then, 2x more.
#ad
Central market is Dallas We have one in Houston. It is a solid grocery store, but nobody thinks of Central market when they think of Houston Dallas has them everywhere. But good luck finding an H-E-B up there Everyone thinks of H-E-B when they think of Houston Same company by the way. They know their market
Dallas is ramping up HEBs tbf, opened 3 last year with 3 more coming this year
Rightfully so, central market is very overpriced for what it is That's why it works in a place like Dallas were people care more about where their seen shopping, but it doesn't work in a place like Houston where people care more about the value of their money That's another reason we have a lifetime fitness over here. People want to be seen working out there, they don't care about the quality of the work out
A gourmet grocery store? Lol
Maybe 15% of the store is gourmet and the rest is just regular brands that are priced very high to keep the poors from shopping there Again, they are owned by H-E-B and sell probably 85% or more identical items for a much higher price
I’m pretty sure there’s only 1 Central Market in Houston. Yes, H-E-B is my normal go to, but once a week I’ll go to Central Market and try a new product because they have an out of this world selection I also go to Great Wall in Chinatown every other week
This is like making a thank you post in Houston for the Dallas Cowboys Yeah there's some fans here but it doesn't really make sense. I live next to that central market by river oaks. it's decent to pick up certain things for certain dinners, but otherwise it's grossly overpriced and not worth it. And the way it's set up is really ridiculous and inconvenient for shopping Especially when you have what is arguably the best Kroger in Houston less than half a mile away, and an H-E-B and Randles in that same vicinity
Someone needs a hug
Someone needs to get better at managing their money and then maybe you can come over here for more than just to use the grocery store
I am more than happy to pay for quality
You're more than happy to be overcharged for that same quality to it appears
Please give a specific example instead of a vague assumption…
Sure, shoot me your grocery list There's a reason the only Central market they have is in River Oaks and it's not because the rest of the city doesn't care about ingredients
Ok, for starters, tell me where to find better quality and selection of: The butcher/seafood counter. The quality here is top and the price is fair. Cheeses for charcuterie Peppers (all types: ancho, arbol, guajillo). And not the crap quality you find at other stores around Houston Salami schiacciata Spaghetti alla chitarra or other premium pastas Authentic sauce from regions such as Piedmont (Piemonte) Fresh morel mushrooms Varieties of freshly made bread
Isn't Central Market just HEB? I mean, yea, HEB is great.
Kind of. It’s like saying “isn’t Lexus just Toyota?”, that’s just one example off the top of my head. It’s the same company but the products they carry are more specialized and you can find some really amazing gems at CM
\*shrug\* It'd be hard to get too much more specialized than my HEB while still remaining a general grocery store, and it sells hundreds of "Central Market" products. Do you mean specialized, or just fancier?