H-E-B announces fate of 6 stores acquired from Sun Fresh
Two will open as upscale Central Market locations
December 2, 2016
H-E-B plans to open two Central Market stores in the Dallas area in former Sun Fresh Market locations acquired earlier this year, the retailer announced.
A third ex-Sun Fresh store has been sold to Lincoln Properties, while the remaining three locations H-E-B snapped up as part of the deal will likely be sold or leased to other retail tenants, Mabrie Jackson, Central Market’s director of public affairs, said in a press release.
The new Central Market stores will be located at Midway Road in northwest Dallas, and McKinney and Lemmon Avenues in the Uptown neighborhood.
“We purchased the entire package of properties in order to acquire the Midway Road and McKinney and Lemmon Avenue locations,” said Jackson.
Central Market plans to open the Midway Road store in fall 2017 following a complete remodel. There are no set plans for the Uptown store as of yet, the retailer said.
“We have had our eye on these two prime locations for many years,” said Stephen Butt, SVP of Central Market. “Central Market takes a very disciplined approach in selecting the best locations for our special brand. We are delighted to open these new stores to provide a great culinary experience for our loyal customers that live in these Dallas neighborhoods.”
With the new stores, Central Market will operate four stores in the Dallas area, the last of which opened in 2012. There are nine Central Market locations statewide.
As previously reported in SN, the six former Sun Fresh stores were operated by independent grocer Ray Schalek, who acquired the locations from Albertsons in 2015 as part of divestitures in the Albertsons-Safeway merger. The stores closed following H-E-B’s purchase of the sites. Industry observers wondered if San Antonio-based H-E-B planned to bring its flagship banner to Dallas, but that does not appear to be the case.
According to the Dallas Morning News, H-E-B also owns 20 parcels of land in the North Texas region.