A grocery chain that social media users have dubbed “The Dollar Tree of grocery stores” is hoping to benefit from Americans’ efforts to tighten their budgets.
With gas prices hitting $4 a gallon and nearly half of Americans struggling to pay for food, according to LendingTree research, low-cost chains like H-E-B in Texas could benefit.
Where Americans are cutting costs
According to a 2026 YouGov survey, 34% of U.S. adults expect their financial situation to worsen. Among those:
- Two-thirds plan to cut back on eating and drinking out. Meanwhile, 50% of those who expect their financial situation to improve still plan to spend less on restaurants.
- Americans are looking to reduce grocery costs as well; a third of those with expected worsening financial situations plan to curtail spending.
- They also plan to cut back on clothing purchases, as 54% say they will buy less apparel due to financial constraints.
- Other areas where consumers aim to curb spending include everyday conveniences such as coffee and taxis (48%), events and going out (48%), subscriptions (48%), and holidays (46%).
Americans could also soon see food prices increase due to the Iran war. Farmers in the U.S. are planting less corn and wheat due to higher fertilizer prices, according to NPR.
Nitrogen fertilizer is a byproduct of oil refinement and is used by farmers during the planting season, usually in March and April. In the U.S., 18% of fertilizer is imported from the Middle East, according to economist Daniel Munch.
The result could be a huge disruption in the global food supply and higher grocery bills for Americans, reports The New York Times.
Grocery chain H-E-B’s expansion plans are coming just in time for some cash-strapped Americans.
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For some shoppers, H-E-B is more than a grocery store
H-E-B, which competes with Walmart and Kroger, is a large regional grocery store with more than 440 locations in Texas and Mexico. It has a large, loyal fan base, largely due to its focus on the community, according to ModernRetail.
The family-owned grocery chain is known as a logistical powerhorse. During a major winter storm in 2021, Texans flocked to H-E-B not only for much-needed supplies, but also for community support, reports The New York Times.
A brief timeline of H-E-B
- 1905: Florence Butt opens the C.C. Butt Grocery Store in Kerrville, Texas, according to the company’s website.
- 1930s and ‘40s: Florence’s son inherits the company and opens dozens of locations in Texas.
- 1950s: H-E-B opens its first supermarkets.
- 1989: H-E-B moves its headquarters to San Antonio.
- 1997: H-E-B expands to Mexico.
- 2018: The company acquires Favor Delivery, an Austin-based on-demand delivery service.
- 2020s: H-E-B continues its expansion plans across Texas.
Texans have also shown their love for H-E-B on social media, with many praising its deals, philanthropy, and offerings.
And now the Lone Star state is about to get another H-E-B to rave about.
H-E-B to open store in fastest-growing U.S. region
H-E-B unveiled plans to expand its footprint in the Dallas-Fort Worth area with a new store on roughly 25 acres of land.
The grocer is adding a site in Royse City, a fast-growing eastern suburb, The Dallas Morning News reported.
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“We are still very early in the planning stages for this project, but we expect work on the store to start early next year, with an estimated opening sometime in 2028,” Mabrie Jackson, managing director of public affairs at H-E-B, told The Dallas Morning News.
H-E-B has launched other stores in North Texas in the past few years. The region is among the fastest-growing counties in the country, based on U.S. Census Bureau data, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Related: 39-year-old grocery chain closing 17 stores in 2026
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