H‑E‑B.
The greatest grocery store in the known universe. The backbone of Texas endurance sport. A public service disguised as a supermarket.
* This page is not sponsored by HEB. HEB does not know this page exists. If HEB finds this, please sponsor us. We will not change what we wrote.
HEB is not just a grocery store.
It is a Texas institution. It is the place you go the night before a long ride to get a rotisserie chicken, a bag of tortillas, and HEB Creamy Creations Texas Sheet Cake ice cream. It is the 5am pharmacy where you grab salt tabs before a race. It is the bulk bin where you build the perfect trail mix.
People who move out of Texas list HEB access alongside housing costs and job market when deciding whether to move back. This is not hyperbole. This is a documented social phenomenon.
The triathlete's HEB guide
Everything I actually buy. Every week. With honest opinions.
Pre-long-run fuel
HEB tortillas
The best tortillas. Made in Texas. Carbs in their purest, most Texan form. Three of these before a long ride and you're loaded.
HEB store brand peanut butter
Cheap. Excellent. Goes on everything. Two tablespoons on a tortilla at 5am is a complete pre-workout meal.
Hill Country Fare banana
A banana. But from HEB. Therefore better.
HEB bakery bagels
Made in-store. Fresh. The everything bagel with cream cheese is not technically sports nutrition. I eat it anyway.
Mid-training nutrition
Gels & chews (HEB stocks them all)
Maurten, GU, SiS, Clif — HEB has the full selection. No driving to a running store at 9pm.
Medjool dates
Natural simple sugars, 18g carbs each. What Tour de France riders eat. HEB bulk section. Perfect.
HEB trail mix (custom build)
The bulk bins. Cashews + dark chocolate chips + dried mango + pretzels. Build your own. Cost: $4. Value: infinite.
Coconut water
HEB store brand coconut water. Electrolytes. Cheaper than sports drinks. Actually good.
Recovery meals
HEB rotisserie chicken
Hot, ready, $7.99, 40g protein per half. The greatest post-long-run meal. Pull it apart, eat it standing over the counter. No shame.
HEB Creamy Creations ice cream
Texas Sheet Cake flavor. After a 5-hour ride you have earned this. It is not negotiable.
Central Market salmon
When you need to feel like you're taking recovery seriously. Omega-3s. Feels virtuous. Actually is virtuous.
HEB deli pasta
Already made. Hot or cold. Massive carb load. The night-before-a-long-run purchase that never disappoints.
Race week / travel prep
HEB pharmacy electrolytes
Salt tabs, magnesium, potassium — the HEB pharmacy has everything. Cheaper than sports nutrition brands.
Protein powder (HEB brand)
Fine, actually. The vanilla is good. Cheaper than every other option. Good protein content.
HEB honey packets
Pack them in your race kit. Fast carbs, natural, easy to use on the run. HEB sells them in bulk.
La Croix (HEB sale)
HEB always has La Croix on sale. This is a fact of Texas life. Stock the fridge. Hydration lifestyle.
Things you should know about HEB
For the uninitiated. Read carefully.
HEB stands for Howard Edward Butt, the founder's son. The Butt family still owns it. Texas does not find this funny anymore but visitors always do.
During Hurricane Harvey, HEB deployed their disaster relief trucks before FEMA arrived. Before FEMA.
During Winter Storm Uri in 2021, HEB was one of the first major stores to reopen and they gave away free food. Free food.
HEB has a mobile kitchen truck that shows up at disaster zones and feeds entire communities. It's called the 'Meal and Food Distribution' truck. It is basically a superhero.
HEB is the #1 most admired grocery store in Texas by a margin that embarrasses other grocery stores.
People who move from Texas to other states go through a genuine grieving process when they lose access to HEB.
Central Market is HEB's fancy sister store. It is also unhinged in the best possible way.
HEB's store brand products routinely beat national brands in blind taste tests. The tortillas are not up for debate.
HEB vs. the competition
An objective, completely unbiased assessment.
Expensive. Good. Not HEB. Bought by Amazon. The betrayal lingers.
not HEBTechnically still exists in Austin. Nobody is excited about it. Nothing against Randalls.
not HEBFine everywhere else. In Texas, next to HEB, it is simply outclassed.
not HEBDifferent purpose. Not a competition.
not HEBHEB's own upscale store. Not a competitor. The same family. The fancy cousin who wears linen.
HEB family ✓This is not a grocery store. This is a trap that gets you to spend $200 on things that aren't food.
not HEBCorrect. Always. The answer. Texas's gift to the world.
👑 Winner🇦🇷 The Argentina problem
November 1, 2026. I fly to Argentina for the race. Argentina is a beautiful country with incredible food. Argentina does not have HEB.
I will need to source my race week nutrition from Argentine grocery stores, which are — by all accounts — perfectly good grocery stores. They are not HEB. This is the sacrifice.
I am bringing two jars of HEB peanut butter in my checked luggage. This is not up for discussion.
🛒
Here for you, Texas.
Thank you, HEB. For the rotisserie chickens at 7pm after long runs. For the salt tabs at 4:55am. For the tortillas. Always the tortillas. For showing up with disaster relief trucks before the government did. You are a grocery store and also you are so much more than that.