To H-E-B or not to H-E-B, that is the question. Mystery clouds grocery store announcement.

Parkside at Alliance Town Center. (Rendering courtesy HIllwood)

Is H-E-B coming to Alliance? No one seems to know for sure and H-E-B is not talking.

Initially on Wednesday, a report was released by Cooksey Communications on behalf of Hillwood, the company that operates Alliance Texas in North Fort Worth, that the popular San Antonio-based grocery chain would open a store to anchor a new addition to the Parkside at Alliance Town Center. It would be H-E-B’s first venture into Fort Worth, though the chain has stores in neighboring cities such as Hudson Oaks near Weatherford and Burleson.

However, later in the day, Cooksey issued a revised release stating that H-E-B was “inadvertently” included in the earlier release. “H-E-B has not announced a store at this site nor a timeline for construction,” the agency said.

The first release said the Parkside addition would be ”anchored by the region’s first H-E-B grocery store.” The revised release said the project would be anchored by “a major grocer.”

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Mallorie Anderson, spokesperson for Cooksey, confirmed Thursday morning that H-E-B does own the land at that location. This backs up a statement made last year by former Fort Worth District 4 Councilman Cary Moon that H-E-B had bought the land in his district.

Alan Blaylock, who was elected District 4 councilman in May, did not issue an official statement, but his office said, “Everyone remains excited and hopeful.” His office also said they contacted H-E-B but got no confirmation, adding, “In a nutshell, a groundbreaking has not been announced.”

Attempts by the Fort Worth Business Press to get a comment from H-E-B’s headquarters in San Antonio were, likewise, unsuccessful.

District 3 council representative Michael Crain said he hopes H-E-B will decide to add Fort Worth to its growing list of cities.

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“I think any commerce, especially a brand like H-E-B, is a great addition to the Fort Worth landscape,” Crain said.

What is official is that the Parkside development will be getting a Torchy’s Tacos, Black Rifle Coffee Company, CAVA restaurant, Dash Nail Spa and several other outlets to open in early 2023 in the 30,000 square foot food and entertainment destination.

“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.”