Mike Copeland: H-E-B buys land at Hewitt Drive, I-35; Daiso USA; Performing Arts Community Center (2024)

Grocery giant H-E-B has bought land at South Hewitt Drive and Interstate 35, but when or if it plans a store there is anyone’s guess. Remember, it owns the former Riverbend shopping center acreage at Lake Shore Drive and North 19th Street to keep on hand for a rainy day, store officials have said.

County records show H-E-B bought almost 37 acres at the southwest corner of Hewitt Drive and Interstate 35 in May from Dallas-based Warren Bros. Farms, but a larger purchase may be in the works.

Diandra Breen, an agent with NewQuest Properties, is marketing nearby acreage and has had several lookers, but would-be buyers are delaying executing a deal until they know more about H-E-B’s intentions. Breen said she does not know when or if construction might begin.

New single-family housing in the vicinity has been added at a rapid pace in recent years.

H-E-B typically does not comment publicly about land acquisition.

“It’s a waiting game,” Breen said, speaking by phone.

If NewQuest sounds familiar, it should. The Houston-based company coordinated development at New Road and I-35 now populated by Cinemark, Main Event, Topgolf, Whataburger, Black Bear Diner and Black Rifle Coffee Co., the group soon to be joined by Carrabba’s Italian Grill.

NewQuest promotional material includes a map that reads “potential grocer” on a 142-acre site bounded by Oscar Road, Hewitt Drive and the I-35 frontage road. Commercial real estate specialist Robert McCollum, from Dallas but with Waco ties, previously marketed the acreage. He could not be reached for comment Friday.

His McCollum Properties promotional material described the land as “The Gateway Tract,” with Hewitt providing water and sewer service.

“This explosive growth MSA now has over 268,000 residents and currently enjoys a Regional Retail/Shopping Trade Area and population base of approximately 425,000,” McCollum’s promotional flyer says.

H-E-B operates five stores in Greater Waco: Bellmead, South Valley Mills Drive, Wooded Acres Drive, Woodway Drive and North 19th Street.

Building permit roundup

Building permits of note issued the past week include one valued at $694,348 for a “tent structure” at 1001 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. for Baylor University football games. Another valued at $426,000 will allow the remodeling of space in Lake Air Mall, 5201 Bosque Blvd., for a Daiso USA retail store.

Information about building permits issued above $5,000 in value is provided by the local Associated General Contractors of America office.

SEO discussion

The Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce on Sept. 17 will host a program discussing strategies to boost a website’s Google ranking and generate more leads, according to a press release. Matt Cote, president of Fire Source Media, will talk about ways to “enhance organic marketing and leveraging artificial intelligence to improve search engine optimization.”

The chamber said the Business PowerHour session is ideal for small to medium-size businesses looking to elevate their online presence. It is scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is free to chamber members.

HTeaO on Hewitt Drive

HTeaO, which calls itself the nation’s leading iced tea brand, has opened its second location in the Waco area, at 137 N. Hewitt Drive. It is owned by franchisees James and Jeffrey Atkinson, a father-son duo.

HTeaO offers tea, water and coffee products in-store and at its drive-thru lane. Each location “boasts 20+ meticulously crafted flavors of sweetened and unsweetened tea, made using a proprietary water filtration system and 100% natural ingredients,” according to a press release.

The grand opening includes half-priced tea through Sept. 6.

HTeaO has 100 locations, reaching that milestone earlier this year. In January last year, it announced a minority partnership with two Dallas-based private equity firms, Crux Capital and Trive Capital, to ensure stable expansion. HTeaO also operates locally at 820 S. Seventh St.

Pilgrim’s Pride antitrust settlement

Pilgrim’s Pride, which operates a poultry plant in Waco, has agreed to pay $100 million to settle claims it conspired with rivals to underpay chicken farmers, which Reuters news service reported is the final and by far the largest settlement in the seven-year antitrust case.

Pilgrim’s Pride denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.

Legal action accused large poultry producers of conspiring to keep farmers’ pay artificially low, “by sharing confidential information about compensation and by agreeing not to actively recruit each others’ farmers,” according to reporting by Reuters and other news outlets. Tyson Foods, Sanderson Farms, Koch Foods and Perdue Foods previously settled for $21 million, $17.75 million, $15.5 million and $14.75 million, respectively.

Growers provide land, labor and equipment to raise chickens until they are ready for slaughter, then return them to poultry producers.

Performing Arts Community Center

The public is invited to attend grand opening ceremonies Friday for the Performing Arts Community Center in Waco, 924 Austin Ave. Festivities will start at 6 p.m., and attendees can avail themselves of guided tours, event previews, a performance by The Silent House Theatre Co., and food and drinks, according to a press release.

The center will offer classes, workshops, events and shows in dance, music and theater for participants of all ages, its Facebook page says.

Do it Best dividend

Do it Best, which distributes products to locally owned and independent hardware stores, home centers and lumberyards worldwide, enjoyed sales totaling nearly $4.6 billion during the year ending June 29. That is down 4% from last year, but marks “a 30% increase compared to 2019, the year before the home improvement industry faced major disruptions due to COVID-19,” according to a press release.

Do it Best operates a distribution center on Hewitt Drive.

Company president and CEO Dan Starr said Do it Best is delivering to shareholders the second-highest dividend in company history, $159 million.