Central Market Announces Plans for Major Renovation at San Antion Store

Central Market has big plans for a major renovation that will provide a bold restatement at its Broadway store in San Antonio. With the investment comes significant updates that will modernize and refresh the location, a destination that has a deep history for H-E-B in the Alamo City and captured the hearts of San Antonians throughout the years.

With initial plans for phase two submitted to the City of Alamo Heights, the company will refresh the store’s façade and execute a full remodel of the location’s interior, which will enhance the shopping experience for customers and work environment for store Partners. While specific details are in development and plans still require city approval, the second phase will include repositioning select departments, adding more energy efficient fixtures and equipment, expanding seating area for the café, implementing improvements to the breakroom and administrative spaces and streamlining work areas for store Partners. The storefront updates will introduce design elements that complement the neighborhood such as adding windows to allow for more natural lighting and incorporating materials and textures like wood, D’Hanis brick and metals.

This news follows word of the project’s first phase, which was shared late last year and includes updates to the parking lot and construction of a dedicated produce loading dock on the upper level. The first phase will start in the spring and is expected to be complete by late 2024. The second phase will begin shortly after phase one is finished and is expected to be done by mid-2026.

The building that Broadway Central Market calls home at 4821 Broadway first opened as an H-E-B store in 1951. Operations moved there from a nearby location that had opened nearly a decade earlier. With a new home, the Broadway H-E-B store was designed with some of the most cutting-edge efficiencies, which included being fully air conditioned and wired for music, according to a report in the San Antonio Express-News that references the store opening in the San Antonio Light. At that time, H-E-B operated 10 stores in the Alamo City.

Since then, the store increased in square footage, received several updates and evolved with the community. Throughout the years, the location yielded many company firsts such as the introduction of a prepared chef case, which paved the way for many of the modern fresh, ready-to-eat offerings customers see in-store today.

For nearly 50 years, the store operated as an H-E-B, until the company rebranded it as a Central Market in 1999. It was the second location for the Central Market brand, and the store immediately became a destination that continues to draw customers from the San Antonio area and beyond. Today, the store is 90,000 square feet and boasts an array of unique products from around Texas and the world. An H-E-B brand, Central Market currently operates 10 stores across Texas.