"It's huge. Its bigger than any of the stores I've been in," said Marion Burns, describing the new H-E-B Plus at Bandera and 1604 after her first visit.
The store, which opened its doors Friday morning, boasts 182,000-square-feet of groceries and other items that make it over twice as large as the store it replaced and the largest of any H-E-B in San Antonio.
"It's got so much more than the last one did," said customer Jeff Whitted.
Mass amounts of curious customers showed up to the opening to take in the grandeur of the giant grocery story. As a result, check-out lines were long and the parking lot full.
"I've been standing in this line right now for ten minutes and I haven't been taking one step forward," said Gayla Carbajal.
Shoppers, though, did not seem to mind, considering the store has everything from sushi to an extensive clothing department and an expanded pet section.
"There's a lot of things that were added to this store that I think the customer is really going to like," said General Manager Robert Torres.
Aisles throughout the store were also made larger, making it easier to navigate.
The store, which requires over 500 partners, or employees, is also energy friendly with LED lights in the frozen food section, natural skylights, and a functioning water tower that doubles as a billboard. It also serves an area that needed an up-size according to Torres.
"There's been a lot of growth in this area," said Torres. "We grew out of the old store and needed something larger."