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H-E-B extends San Antonio store hours during COVID-19 pandemic

H-E-B is extending store hours after limiting them in March.

Photo by Dave Rossman

H-E-B is extending store hours for its grocery stores and pharmacies, the company recently announced. Beginning Monday, April 27, H-E-B stores will open at 7 am and close at 10 pm, until further notice. H-E-B pharmacies will open from 8 am-8 pm.

Central Market, Mi Tienda, and Joe V's Smart Shop, all owned by the San Antonio-based company, will also offer extended daily hours. Also beginning on April 27, Central Market stores will open from 8 am-10 pm; Mi Tienda locations will open from 7 am-10 pm; and Joe V's Smart Shop will remain open from 7 am-10 pm.

Local locations of True Texas BBQ — located at the H‑E‑B plus! at Potranco and 1604 and the H-E-B at Bulverde and 1604 — are open from 11 am-8 pm for to-go orders only.

"Our top priority remains protecting the health and safety of our Partners and customers. Even with our extended hours, our stores remain diligent in following H-E-B’s strict hygiene and sanitation measures as well as proper social distancing protocols," the company said in a release.

H-E-B said it has also formed dedicated teams trained to ensure sanitation and social distancing measures are in place, and it is requiring all employees in customer-facing roles to wear face masks.

In March, H-E-B shortened hours for both stores and pharmacies in response to the growing COVID-19 pandemic (and subsequent rush of shoppers to supermarkets). H-E-B said it has since strengthened the supply chain, thus improving its capacity to help customers, but it will continue to follow guidance and advice from medical professionals and the Centers for Disease Control.

H-E-B's plan also coincides with Texas' plan to "reopen" the state in coming weeks. Emboldened by the slowdown of COVID-19 after social distancing measures were implemented in mid-March, Texas Governor Greg Abbott outlined his plan last week, beginning with the reopening of state parks on April 20.

"Because of the efforts by everyone, we're seeing glimmers that the worst of COVID-19 may soon be behind us," Abbott said in a press conference on April 17.

supermarkets openings

NYT loves AUS

Pastry chef from San Antonio makes New York Times Best Bakeries list

Comadre Panadería/Instagram

Comadre Panadería is known for nostalgic Mexican bakes with feminine flair.

The New York Times has once again shined its spotlight on Austin’s culinary scene. It included Comadre Panadería, an Austin bakery by San Antonio native Mariela Camacho, on its new list of the 22 of the Best Bakeries Across the U.S. Right Now.

Interim food critic Priya Krishna praises pastry chef Camacho’s pastries that include conchas and her signature pink cake. “Despite their saccharine appearances, not one of the desserts is overly cloying, and even the coffee drinks (Texas pecan horchata! Cranberry vanilla agua fresca!) strike the playful tone of the pastries,” she writes.

Comadre Panadería has been widely recognized, including by this publication; Camacho, who is now based in Ausitn, won Pastry Chef of the Year in the 2023 CultureMap Austin Tastemaker Awards. She also earned a 2024 James Beard Award semifinalist nomination for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker.

Camacho and Comadre as a whole are both invested in using baked goods to make a more equitable world, from the bakery's early days as a fundraiser for disaster relief, to a current insistence on charging enough to support ethical and organic foods, and paying staff enough to keep up with rising costs in Austin.

Although Camacho was born in San Antonio and started her baking career there, she also spent a significant time in Seattle, Washington, where Comadre started as a pop-up. According to Austin Monthly, she then moved back to San Antonio, and then to Austin. But no matter where she is, the Mexican cooking traditions of her ancestors take precedent.

Mariela Camacho of Comadre Panaderia in Austin Mariela Camacho, Comadre Panaderia. Courtesy photo

The Times also recognized Houston's Koffeteria. Krishna hails the bakery for pastry chef-owner Vanarin Kuch’s creative fare that includes dishes such as beef pho kolaches, Chinese sausage breakfast tacos, and butter mochi.

“Some of Mr. Kuch’s offerings are rooted in his Cambodian American identity — he makes cornbread with the coconutty, scallion-forward flavors of Cambodian street corn — while others are odes to Houston’s multicultural makeup. But most of the fun of Koffeteria is having no idea what Mr. Kuch will do next, and eagerly awaiting his next innovation,” Krishna writes.

Open since 2019, Koffeteria has been riding high this year. It earned a James Beard Award semifinalist nomination for Outstanding Bakery and a CultureMap Houston Tastemaker Award for Pastry Chef of the Year.

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Comadre Panadería and Koffeteria are the only Texas establishments to make the Times’ list. Only California and New York City, which each have three representatives, earn more recognition.

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