Hillside
The good people at Hillwood sent along word that four new dining and retail concepts were currently under construction at Parkside at Alliance Town Center, a 30,000-square-foot food and entertainment destination within AllianceTexas.
Then the mic drop: The development would be anchored by an H-E-B grocery store, and not any H-E-B grocery store. The First H-E-B grocery store in Tarrant County.
The news was equivalent to manna from heaven for many who have waited like a Dallas Cowboys fan for a Super Bowl for an H-E-B, the grocery store concept founded as a small, family owned store in Kerrville in 1905 and grown into an empire by Charles Butt, son of Howard E. Butt.
However, hours later, public relations officials with a firm representing Hillwood said news of H-E-B's arrival is premature. The grocery store had not yet agreed to build there.
There are indeed new additions, however, all of which will be located north of Heritage Trace, on the east side of Hillwood Parkway, adjacent to Bluestem Park, a 14-acre spot in the heart of Alliance Town Center.
The dining and retail concepts are Torchy’s Tacos, CAVA, Black Rifle Coffee Company, and Dash Nail Spa, with planned openings for early 2023, according to a news release.
“Parkside at Alliance Town Center continues to be a destination for the region and I’m excited to welcome some new additions to serve our growing community,” said Mark Miller, senior vice president of retail development at Hillwood. “Torchy’s, CAVA, Black Rifle and Dash Nail Spa diversify our existing retail, restaurant and entertainment options, promoting strong community engagement and building upon Alliance Town Center’s vibrant atmosphere.”
With the addition of Torchy’s — once an Austin-based food truck with a killer green chile queso — Cava, Black Rifle, and Dash, among others currently in negotiations, less than 3,000 square feet of retail space remains available at Parkside, according to officials.
It took years for H-E-B to move into North Texas, but it has yet to find a spot in the Fort Worth market. (Central Market on Interstate 30 and Hulen Street is an H-E-B concept.) Instead, the grocer has dotted the map all around us, with stores in Burleson, Hudson Oaks, Cleburne, as well as stores or planned openings in Frisco, McKinney, Plano, and Waxahachie.
They have teased. The company has bought up parcels of land in Tarrant County, including Mansfield and, yes, in the Alliance property.
We will welcome you with a big, ol’ howdy, H-E-B ... whenever the day might come.