Katy shoppers jammed the area around Fry Road and Clay Road on Wednesday, December 6th as Joe V’s Smart Shop by H-E-B in Katy held its grand opening for its 10th location in the Houston region. “At 55,000 square feet, the Joe V’s Smart Shop Katy store will deliver the high-quality, fresh products H-E-B is known for at even lower prices with an assortment that’s uniquely curated for the Katy community,” said store officials in a press release. The store is located at 4107 N. Fry Road in Katy.

In honor of the grand opening and in the company’s spirit of giving, Joe V’s Smart Shop enlisted the community to nominate schools in Katy ISD and Cypress-Fairbanks ISD who were deemed deserving of donations. The contest took place via social media. Donations totaling $30,000 to six schools were given to Robinson Elementary, Brosnahan Elementary, Thornton Junior High, (all in CyFair ISD), McRoberts Elementary and Rhoads Elementary and Cardiff Junior High in Katy ISD. The winning schools -- Cardiff Junior High in Katy ISD and Brosnahan Elementary in CyFair ISD -- were each presented with a $10,000 gift. The other schools were gifted $2,500 each. An additional $5,000 gift was presented to Katy Christian Ministries, a social service nonprofit serving Katy and West Houston.

The store will employ about 180 associates. The format has been specially designed, with wider aisles and longer “belts” at checkout, where the typical shopper generally places their average order of over 30 items.

Joe V’s Smart Shop is an innovative price format that delivers a uniquely curated assortment of community focused products, and many of the high-quality fresh products H-E-B is known for at even lower prices, said company officials. “Joe V’s Smart Shop is committed to delivering the lowest prices in the marketplace with the highest quality fresh products for its customers, also fondly known as Smart Shoppers,” officials said. The store features low prices such as “three for a dollar” canned goods, “bundle boxes” of freshly cut meats for $20.00 and a variety of weekly specials. The store also offers a wide range of tropical produce and many varieties of Latino cheeses. A “hot food” area offering pizza and sushi is also planned.

Joe V’s Smart Shop launched in 2010 and currently employs more than 1,650 Partners across 10 stores in the Houston area. Continuing its expansion in the DFW Metroplex, H-E-B announced plans earlier this year to open two Joe V’s Smart Shop by H-E-B stores in Dallas, the first locations the multi-format retailer will open outside the Houston area.

As a multi-format retailer, H-E-B operates Central Market stores across Texas, as well as Joe V’s Smart Shop, and Mi Tienda stores. In addition, H-E-B also operates Favor Delivery, an on-demand delivery service that serves hundreds of communities throughout the state.