In the bottom photo, a manager says goodbye to a store worker after they have collected the shopping carts in the parking lot. City officials say that they have been working to interest grocery store chains in opening a store there, but until today have had little success. They say that despite the fact that the store was a money maker for HEB, the corporate bosses claimed it would cost too much for them to effect repairs on the old structure to keep the store going.
Downtown residents without transportation could buy their groceries, pay their bills and cash their checks, and receive and/or send money from that central location.
The store served as an anchor for the downtown area, serving the senior high rise and the customers from Matamoros. Plasma donors caches their debit-card payments with a minimum $5 purchase and businesses often got change from the customer service windows. The store's closing will throw a damper on efforts to revitalize the city's inner core which has seen a resurgence of commerce and night spots attracting upper middle-class customers.
The centralized location - across from city hall and a U.S. Post Office caddy corner from City Plaza - - was a natural magnet for commercial traffic. It's hard to believe that this mainstay of the downtown economy has shut its doors. The true impact of this business on the commerce of the downtown area has yet to be felt. This is, in every sense of the word, the end of an era.)