The Affordable Grocery Store Chain That's Made For H-E-B Fans
Among the numerous grocery retailers in the United States, H-E-B fans know it as the best of the best. Dunnhumby's annual Retailer Preference Index has ranked the retailer No. 1 in five of the nine years it has analyzed the market. Based on its findings, the Texas chain reigns superior in delivering quality, assortment, experience, and savings. So, it's no surprise that H-E-B is among the grocery chains slated to take over in 2026, especially with a supply-chain campus in the works in North Texas. However, its even cheaper grocery offshoot, Joe V's Smart Shop, is made for existing fans who want to save even more.
Joe V's Smart Shop is a grocer that many shoppers describe as a middle ground between H-E-B and Aldi, which makes sense because H-E-B specifically established Joe V's in 2010 to compete with such low-priced retailers. H-E-B COO, president, and Joe V's co-creator, Roxanne Orsak, told The Dallas Morning News in 2023, "We knew there was a very price-conscious customer that maybe we weren't serving, who didn't need all the bells and whistles of an H-E-B ... We wanted to find out how we could compete." Prices matter more to customers who shop at Aldi, which has a different format and is currently ranked the fifth-best grocer by Dunnhumby. However, Joe V's doesn't fit into the standard discount, warehouse club, or value retailer categories.
How Joe V's Smart Shop is different and what to expect
Rather than copy Aldi altogether, Roxanne Orsak worked with co-creator and chain namesake Joe Villarreal to design an H-E-B-like concept. The result is a grocery store that hones in on what's most important to locals, which involved spending time in their homes during its development. As a result, the chain has smaller stores (less than half the size of H-E-B) and either limited or expanded product selections based on local needs. In general, the grocer carries fewer than 10,000 items, compared to more than 37,000 at conventional supermarkets and about 2,000 at Aldi.
Similar to Aldi, though, Joe V's cashiers check out customers, who then bag their own items. Meanwhile, the employees work across the entire store in teams rather than being assigned to individual sections. These aspects keep prices between 87 cents and $2.89 lower than at H-E-B. Perhaps now this makes not going to Joe V's the first mistake you could be making when shopping at H-E-B.
Joe V's, which has 14 locations as of November 2025, also stands out because of its access to H-E-B's produce network, private labels, and buying power. For instance, The Daily Meal ranked H-E-B in the top three for butcher shops based on staff certification testing and ability to provide advice. Shoppers can expect the same from the meat cutters at this lower-priced offshoot. Also, produce is delivered in smaller amounts every day, and everything goes out onto the store floor. Joe V's director Justin Tippett told The Dallas Morning News, "Our products are the same as H-E-B, just cheaper."