Shopping for groceries. Love it or hate it?
Are you a prepared shopper with a grocery list, an expandable coupon organizer and a bevy of reusable totes?
Or are you the frantic shopper who runs in with good intentions and then your eyes glaze over with defeat somewhere in the frozen waffle aisle?
Whatever kind of shopper you are, we all have something in common — we need food — and most of us have preferences when it comes to choosing the place to shop for our groceries.
It’s the great grocery store debate in Lake Travis:
Where do you like to shop for groceries in Lake Travis?
Which grocery store do you shop at most of the time?
I find it interesting that many residents in the Lake Travis area have a definite preference of where they ideally like to shop, but that’s not always where they go. Why? Two answers stand out — convenience and parking (or the lack thereof).
If you live in Lakeway, Bee Cave, or Spicewood, you probably shop at H-E-B Bee Cave. It’s a beautiful store (96k square feet). But what’s up with the parking lot? Does it always seem full to you? Last week one of my friends quipped, “I don’t get it. Are they giving away gold in the produce department?” Buy a Granny Smith and get a free Rolex.
If you live on the north side of Mansfield Dam, your go to place is most likely H-E-B Four Points. Try pulling out of that parking lot during rush hour traffic. We have classifications for the types of drivers that emerge at the intersection of 620 & 2222.
And if you live in Steiner Ranch, you have your very own Randalls. Because … does anyone living outside of Steiner Ranch ever grocery shop there?
The H-E-B Dilemma
In chatting with other Lake Travis residents, I’ve realized we all tend to have a similar approach for that Bee Cave store due to the parking.
First, we do the drive-by, looking for that elusive rock star parking space from 620 headed into Lakeway. If we see something promising, we make an easy right turn (avoiding the dreaded left turn at all costs!) and keep our fingers crossed. We tend to do about two laps and if we can’t find a space, we give up.
The space must also be going with the “flow” of parking lot traffic because if you gracefully turn into a one-way space pointed in the wrong direction, people get really mad and point to the arrows painted on the ground. Uhm, er … that’s just plain awkward for everyone involved.
If H-E-B is too crowded, the next stop is almost always Randalls. Then again, what about Whole Foods?
Whole Foods Foodies
Shout out if you’re a loyal Whole Foods shopper! If so, do you buy all of your groceries there or just certain items?
Whole Foods Market has an impeccable selection of natural foods, but it seems pricey if you’re doing the bulk of your shopping there. I’ve seen carts loaded down with heaps of groceries and I wonder, “Holy Wild Alaskan Salmon! How much is that gonna cost?”
Randalls by Default
For most of my friends and neighbors in the Lakeway area, our default grocery store is Randalls. Why? Because it’s the easiest grocery store to reach as fast as possible. Other than the infamous short-cycle light at Lohmans Crossing, it’s relatively painless. Plus, the store seems smaller (90k square feet) and easier to maneuver, especially if you know the layout by heart. The day they moved the Capri Sun to a new aisle, the confusion was palpable for about a week.
Although the Randalls parking lot is not without its share of issues too. Let’s just say people could be more polite to their fellow shoppers. Reverse lights mean, “I’m trying to go backwards, please!” not “Hey, will you speed up and wreck me on purpose while I’m gingerly backing out with my head on a swivel, trying not to run over pedestrians who seem to meander into moving vehicles like it’s an episode of the Walking Dead?!”
The talk coming out of the Steiner Ranch neighborhood is that Randalls is more like a convenient store. Most of you will find a way to fit a trip to H-E-B Four Points in your schedule, but if you forgot something — or you just need a couple of items for a get together — thank heavens for Randalls in Steiner Ranch!
Because 3.8 Miles Matter
Now let’s revisit my initial questions.
Where do you like to shop and where do you actually end up?
I pose this question because the majority of people I’ve spoken to prefer H-E-B because it has a larger selection of brands and lower prices, yet they shop at Randalls because it’s easier. Agree or disagree?
Enter Shiny New H-E-B
So what does this mean for Randalls when the new H-E-B in Oaks at Lakeway opens? Remember when Whole Foods Market initially arrived and that was “the” place to shop?
In less than a month, Randalls and the biggest, newest H-E-B in Central Texas will be staring at each other across 620. Will both emerge victorious? Time will tell.
I avoid Randalls at all cost unless I just don’t have time to run to HEB. However, I’m in Hudson Bend so I go to the Steiner Ranch Randall’s location. It is tiny and has few choices but it’s better than dealing with the lights in Lakeway. I was excited when I heard there was going to be an HEB in Lakeway. However, I was very disappointed that it is going in at Main street. Lakeway is already a nightmare. It would have been better had HEB and Lexus swapped locations. For the most part, I make rushed trip to the Bee Caves HEB while my son is at practice at FOD. It’s amazing how fast an hour goes by when you are trying to shop for a week’s worth of groceries in a store that is 3 long lights away and has a crowded parking lot. But the reason I don’t like Randalls is poor choice and over priced food. For years Randalls was the only store out here at Lohmans Spur. They overcharged on everything and limited the choices to only Randalls brand items. However, HEB is getting very bad about choices and pushing everything to HEB brands. I noticed yesterday how difficult it was to find Kraft shredded sharp cheese in the sea of HEB brands. At least the prices remain somewhat reasonable. As for Whole Foods, I love the store and choices and quality, but it is just too expensive to be the only source of groceries. However, Whole Foods has a much better and cheaper selection of organic beef and chicken. You can find grass feed Texas beef at Whole Foods. The only grass fed beef you can find at HEB is from Australia. Australia? How fresh is that? Also, the produce at Whole Foods is far superior to HEB. The organic honey crisp apples at HEB yesterday were gross. They were full of black spots. I went to WF and got some gorgeous honey crisp apples. But, when it opens, I will do the majority of my shopping at HEB main street. Sigh
Live in Lakeway, and we do HEB in Beecave by default (wider selection, lower prices)…Randalls in Lakeway is the last resort, though much closer and more convenient…primary reason is higher prices and the veggie section that looks like an afterthought. Whole Foods has its own appeal, and we go there when we need specific items. Rarely do we buy generic stuff from Whole Foods. So, can’t wait for the new HEB to open!!
We live right behind the Bee Cave HEB and have been shopping there for over 10 years. I don’t know what’s going on lately, but it’s like the day before Thanksgiving every single day there now. Shelves are ransacked, there are no carts, the lines are long. It’s like everyone’s preparing for a hurricane.
We are THRILLED that there will be the new HEB in 29 days and counting.
I shop at both Randalls and HEB and they each have their advantages. I live near Hudson Bend and work in Lakeway so it is much easier to shop at Randalls most of the time. At least once a week I will drive to Bee Caves HEB because they have items that Randalls doesn’t offer. I can say the same for Randalls. Randalls has many items that HEB doesn’t. I never shop at Whole Foods because it’s too expensive. I am so excited and cannot wait for the new HEB to open in Lakeway. I will still most likely shop at both Randalls and HEB depending on the items I need on a given week. 🙂
Always HEB, unless I just have to run into Randalls for something quick & only if I cant make it over to HEB. I am over the moon about a 2nd HEB store opening in the Lakeway area, it will free up the bee cave store from being overcrowded. Also, equally excited to have reasonable gas prices on 620 & a drive through car wash. The only other one is at that Valero & sometimes the line can be 5 cars deep.
I am sad for the Randalls, because I feel like HEB directly across the street is going to really create a struggle for them. However, I already have visions of a Nordstrom Rack or Hobby Lobby taking over there space. sorry… just being honest.
This article is great! It’s funny how we have all had these conversations. I can’t wait for the new HEB! I live in Lakeway and sometimes I’m forced to shop at Randall’s. They just don’t have the variety I look for and I feel Randall’s is more of a processed kind of food store, lots of box food and the rest is blah. HEB has better choices of produce, deli, meat and fish in their departments and with much lower prices much and high quality items. I don’t want to see people loose their jobs, but HEB is going to be the only place for me.
I work at the Randall’s in Lakeway. I like working there because i know most of my customers and i can always count on them for a smile. I understand if people don’t want to shop with us due to our prices. For the most part, it seems like everyone talks about how awesome HEB is, but honestly, ever since I’ve moved to Austin, HEB, seems to chaotic for my taste. Too loud, too many items, and when you need help with something, no one is around to help. When i had been searching for employment, HEB was on the list of choices, but i didn’t get a call back, so i didn’t feel too awful about it. As for my customers, I’m sad to see you go, but that’s just me. I live for smiles on my customers faces, and I’ll keep doing that even after HEB opens.
We think you should be proud to work there! You all do a wonderful job taking care of your customers – your staff is always very friendly & helpful. Your managers are very personable too. 🙂 Thank you so much for your feedback, Eleni!
No problem. ^_^
In regards to which grocery store we prefer, hands down is Whole Foods. Best organic selection, great ready to eat items, produce is fresh and parking is easy. HEB is a nightmare with parking and store is hard to maneuver in with all the people. Organic selection is decent. Randall’s has easier parking but the food offered is mostly boxed or canned. Terrible selection of organic, produce looks old and items are mostly processed. We need a Trader Joes not another HEB!!!
Randall’s is fast in and out and most of the time they have plenty of checkers.
After reading this article- and I think this is the second one of its kind- I had to wonder if it was written by HEB .
We work in the area and live outside it , and have for many years, so we frequent several stores. But Randalls is our favorite- for a number of reasons – folks are friendliest of all the stores mentioned, it’s cleaner than either of the HEB’s we visit and not by a little and though we could complain about the cards etc, they overall offer a decent value and great quality in our opinion.
But another thing I don’t see mentioned enough- and it bothers us for all the businesses up and down 620- is that Randalls have been the only ones who invested in this area. If I count it they’ve built three stores in the area and though HEB I’m sure had plenty of opportunities to enter Lakeway over the last 20 or so years, they chose Bee Caves and 2222.
Seems to us that to large part, this new store will just move existing tax dollars from one place to another- the only new business will have to come from outside Lakeway- guessing from the existing HEB’s? And what this huge store is going to do to traffic and all the other businesses- not just Randalls- up and down Lakeway’s 620, the businesses who built here and helped fuel this communities’ needs, hardly seems to be a cause de celebrate. Great to have a new store and new center, but let’s see how many empty shops we have in 6 months .
Randalls has been here a long time and been very supportive of our school and this community, so we hope they will stick with us as they are our favorite spot.
I shop at the HEB at 620 and Anderson Mill and I love it. IMO, it is much better than the HEB at 620 and 2222.
Just one question: where on earth is the Whole Foods that you guys are talking about? On Bee Caves? That is a million miles away from me (Volente). I only go into Whole Foods for special items. I also go to Central Market on occasion (but just for a few items). I work right near a small Trader Joe’s but honestly, I am not impressed – maybe that is because it is a small store.
Anyway, I am very grateful to have my local HEB. 🙂
For me its Randalls hands down, It has what i want and i know every employee by name, The prices are not that high as everybody has stated. Shop the sales and bulk up when what you like is on sale. I go to the new Heb for bread because they have my favorite kind as randalls does not. but for me its easy to get around and self checkout which HEB does not have is way cool.