Texas HEB Stores Closed Easter Sunday

AUSTIN, TX — All HEB stores in Texas will be closed for Easter, officials reminded residents.

The closure is not coronavirus-related, but a longtime standing tradition to offer employees a day to celebrate with their families. The traditional closure — one of the few times of the year the state's dominant grocer closes — takes on new meaning this year, with overtaxed grocery stores employees suffused with the designation of "essential" workers during a time of illness outbreak.

With physical distancing provisions in place to help blunt the spread of illness, it's likely many grocery store workers won't be able to spend time with their familiesi in person — relegated instead to virtual contact via Facetime, Zoom and other platforms. Some will take an old-school approach, actually dialing their parents' and other loved ones phone numbers for a conversation.

Still, it's a welcome respite for workers facing an aberrant influx of shoppers struggling to stock their homes with groceries and other essentials as they hunker in place to help mitigate the spread of illness.

The grocery store chain has taken several measures to ensure the safety of its workers and employees since the outbreak of respiratory illness:

• "At H-E-B, our top priority is the health and safety of our Partners and customers," officials said in a recent news release detailing the availability of protective face coverings and gloves provided to employees while at work. "As an essential business to the public during this time, all HEB Partners who work in our stores, warehouses, manufacturing and transportation facilities will be strongly encouraged to wear masks." Company offiicials first made the items available to employees on April 4, including those working at Central Market, Joe V’s Smart Shop and Mi Tienda locations.
• Despite the availability of protective masks and gloves, employees are still encouarged to follow strict hygiene and sanitation measures while practicing physical distancing protocols, company officials said. Those wearing masks have been directed to keep them clean in maintaining the company's "high standards for hygiene and sanitation while at work," officials said. Those wearing gloves must continue to frequently wash their hands and apply hand sanitizer, officials added, and gloves must also be regularly changed and properly discarded after use.
• Among the significant measures taken by the company is education related to the COVID-19 virus that causes respiratory illness directed to both workers and customers. "We created a dedicated leader in every store, the COVID Action Manager, who is trained to ensure sanitation and social distancing procedures are properly followed," officials described. "We have also installed plexiglass partitions at all checkstands, metered entry into stores, adopted crowd control guidelines to manage customer traffic, and placed floor decals to help identify proper social distance"
• Other hygiene-related action taken is regular deep cleaning and sanitizing of stores and hard surfaces as well as fuel stations throughout the day, officials added. The company also has utilized contact-devoid home delivery to limit direct interaction. Moreover, employees are required to stay home if they feel ill, officials added.

"As we continue to monitor the spread of the pandemic, we are following guidance and advice from medical professionals and the CDC to make the best decisions regarding the health and safety of our Partners, customers and the communities we serve," company officials said.

Those seeking more information about the company's COVID-19 efforts are directed to the HEB Newsroom portal at heb.com/newsroom.

To further assist customers seeking meals, HEB recently partnered with Texas restaurants in launching a pilot program featuring chef-prepared, ready-made meals in its stores. The latest restaurant to participate in the pilot program is Tatsu-Ya in Austin, which joined the effort on Friday.

To that end, select Austin stores will carry Tatsu-Ya favorites such as the Karaage Chicken from Kemuri Tatsu-Ya, Japanese Beef Curry from Domo Alley-Gato, and new Shake & Slurp brothless ramen cups from Ramen Tatsu-Ya, including the early return of the seasonal summer favorite, the Spicy Chilled Ramen.

And yet, the restaurant isn't merely jumping on a bandwagon to capitalize on the new HEB program. On Wednesday, Kemuri Tatsu-Ya donated 80 meals to the staff of Austin Lakes Hospital as a gesture of thanks for those on the front lines of the ongoing fight against illness.

With little fanfare, Kemuri Tatsu-Ya thie week gave away 80 meals to over-burdened medical staff at Austin Lakes Hospital as a gesture of thanks for their frontline fight against growing respiratory illness. Photo courtesy of Tatsu-Ya.

But let's get back to that food. Shake & Slurp cups were created with on-the-go enjoyment in mind, composed of brothless ramen packaged in a cup meant to be “sauced and shaken” to dress and eaten chilled, ideal for the rising Texas heat, restaurant officials described in a news release.

Variations include the Vegan Mazemen ($9), seasoned with mushroom oil, vegan shoyu, layered with wood ear mushrooms, marinated bamboo shoots, tomatoes, and fresh spinach, and garnished with rubbed sage, crispy onions, and kizami nori, as well as the early return of the popular seasonal ramen dish, the Spicy Chilled Ramen, typically served at all Ramen Tatsu-Ya locations during the hot summer months. The Spicy Chilled Ramen is made with citrus soy dressing, cucumber, tomatoes, karashi mustard and chili oil, and shoppers can choose from ground prikara pork ($8.50) or chicken ($9) options.

HEB Austin locations where Tatsu-Ya items can be found daily are included below:

• Parmer/IH35
• 41st/Red River
• HWY 183/Braker Ln
• 7th St/Pleasant Valley
• Mueller (51st St/Berkman)
• HWY 183/Lakeline Blvd
• Parmer/McNeil
• Riverside/Pleasant Valley

In addition to Tatsu-Ya favorites on sale at HEB stores, all Ramen Tatsu-Ya locations are offering the entire menu available for online ordering/pick-up for the first time. Domo Alley-Gato is serving up its unique menu of Japanese curry bowls, wings, and Ban Ban Dogs via online ordering/call-in for pick-up or delivery through Favor and UberEats. Acclaimed Texas-influenced Japanese izakaya Kemuri Tatsu-Ya has also launched a new menu available for to-go or delivery via Favor and UberEats, featuring a Tatsu-Ya take on the traditional barbecue spread.

Like Tatsu-Ya, multiple restaurants across Austin have shifted their offerings' access to curbside and delivery. For a list of restaurants still "open for business" despite temporary closures of their storefronts, click here.