16 June 20 - 26, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents tossed with a light Meyer lemon gel. This dish was on the brunch menu; the lamb on the dinner menu comes over mashed pota- toes. The jerk sauce pulls more vinegar than you might find in a typical Louisiana kitchen but was top-notch nonetheless. Judon, a self-proclaimed karaoke fiend, closed out the night with a karaoke perfor- mance. Don’t fret, this wasn’t just a one-time show. Guests can expect a plethora of live entertainment including singing, dancing and live music. Nine Kitchen and Lounge, 2211 N. Houston St. Tuesday – Wednesday, 4:30–10 p.m.; Thursday – Friday, 4:30 p.m. – 2 a.m.; Satur- day, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. – 2 a.m.; Sun- day, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.; closed Monday. ▼ GROCERIES V IS FOR VICTORY JOE V’S, AN H-E-B STORE, OPENS IN SOUTHERN DALLAS AND PEOPLE SHOW UP IN DROVES. BY LAUREN DREWES DANIELS J oe V’s Smart Shop is an H-E-B sister store based in Houston with an “inno- vative price format” and a uniquely curated bevy of neighborhood-focused products. Yesterday the brand’s first location outside of the Houston area opened at Wheatland Road and U.S Highway 67, in Oak Cliff. And the nearby community showed up in happy droves. Anxious shoppers lined up outside be- fore dawn, much like at H-E-B openings in North Texas. Dallas’ Carter High School’s CC Marching Machine drum line played on. After all the fanfare, shoppers got to shop- ping. And after a visit yesterday, I’m jealous. If you feel like shopping post-pandemic is an assault, you should be jealous too. The 55,000-square-foot store is an all- business, smaller version of an H-E-B store, which are typically around 100,000 square feet. There aren’t so many bells and whis- tles, such as a huge bakery (although there are fresh tortillas, bolillos and breads). There aren’t cooking demonstrations nor is there a floral department. No jalapeño pi- mento cheese or a home goods section. But a broad selection of fresh, high-quality goods at more-than-reasonable prices makes up for it. Shoppers took note and loaded up. Walking in the front doors — with The Go- Go’s “Head Over Heels” not ironically play- ing loud over the aux — shoppers were welcomed by a pile of avocados for 47 cents each. Packages of fresh strawberries were on special for 67 cents each. There were plenty of ripe avocados. None were bruised and all were working towards soft (but none overly ripe). The strawberries were bright red with no mold at the bottom of the plastic. The rows and piles of produce were lush in vari- ety and quantity. The whole right half side of the store, where the fruit and vegetable section leads to the meat section in the back, was absolutely packed. One shopper was calmly navigating the wild (yet calm) waters. She identified as a couponer; she was looking for good deals. With big eyes, she said she found them. Five- pound bags of potatoes for less than a dollar moved fast, but nothing compared to the full slabs of pork spare ribs for 67 cents a pound. Every cart appeared to have at least one rack. We asked H-E-B’s public relations de- partment for a final number on the spare ribs yesterday: How many pounds did they move? “We cannot share our sales numbers but can confi- dently say we are pleased with our meat sales on Opening Day,” responded Mabrie Jack- son, capitalizing the day like they’re the MLB, which maybe they are. Of grocery stores anyway. Amidst the shoppers, who included full families and groups of friends pointing out deals to one another, Joe V’s employees were constantly restocking popular items and were readily available. The store was busy, but not cha- otic. Packed but manageable. The outer ring of the store, where all the fresh food is kept, was more crowded than the processed-food aisles in the middle. Grocery Store Games The building that houses Joe V’s was origi- nally an Albertson’s that opened in 1985 and closed in 2004. For two decades, the space has sat empty, leaving this neighborhood with few fresh grocery options, none ideal. The abandoned building was as a blight on the community. For years the city of Dallas has explored solu- tions to address food inse- curity in this area and to breathe life into the gro- cery store options in southern Dallas. Discount stores have come and gone over the years. And while Joe V’s is a discount store, it parlays its massive buying power of more than 435 H-E-B stores and $43 billion in annual sales to offer a wide selec- tion of streamlined inven- tory at good prices. The relief at the store on Wednesday was palpable. Another thing that H-E-B brings to a community, aside from 250 jobs, is a bit of philanthropy. As part of the opening, Joe V’s Smart Shop donated $10,000 each to Harmony Food Pantry and Resource Center in Dal- las, the Duncanville ISD Pan- ther Pantry and Duncanville Outreach Ministries/Food Bank. Joe V’s also donated a book vending machine to nearby McNair Elementary School, stocked with 500 free books for kids. Price Pressure on Aisle 4 A few observations from a longtime shopper is that prices are tremendously better at Joe V’s. Let’s take peanut butter and jelly, the baseline for civilization. At Joe V’s, a 16-ounce jar of Peter Pan is $2.18 and at H- E-B the jar is $2.75. Tom Thumb? $3.59. Kroger sells it for $2.99. A 32-ounce jar of Joe V’s Hill Country Fare jelly is $3.14. Tom Thumb’s Select 18-ounce jar is $3.99 and Kroger’s 18-ounce brand is $2.99. Joe V’s also min- gles some of its H-E-B brand names, like the higher-end More Fruit for $2.88, of- fering shoppers some elevated choices along the way (get that good jam). An 18-ounce box of Frosted Mini- Wheats at Kroger is $5.79; Tom Thumb sells it for $6.29. Joe V’s sells it for $3.67. Added up over the year, especially for big families (and by big, we mean more than two people), these are substantial savings. The great grocery hope is a spate of new H-E-B stores across North Texas, and now Joe V’s in southern Dallas County (another is set to open next year) will force other stores to lower prices. The second location of Joe V’s will open next spring at 5204 S. Buckner Blvd., at the intersection with Samuell Boulevard. Joe V’s Smart Shop, 4101 W. Wheatland Road. Daily, 7 a.m. – 10 p.m. ▼ SOCIAL MEDIA KEITH LEE RETURNS THE REHEAT, THE TIKTOK FOODIE’S COLLABORATION WITH MICROSOFT, FEATURES DESOTO’S BRUNCHAHOLICS. BY CARLY MAY GRAVLEY T he Keith Lee effect in Dallas endures. The TikTok-famous food influ- encer visited Dallas in February as part of his quest to visit and review local res- taurants across the country. “The Keith Lee Effect” is widely used to refer to his impact on the businesses he highlights, and it was undoubtedly felt in Dallas. Lee’s visit to Dallas saw some highs (he gave Pakistani taco spot Halal Fusionz a glowing review), lows (the pizza at Thun- derbird Pies didn’t have enough sauce) and some bizarre moments (a run-in with a food truck led to accusations of theft and a case of mistaken identity). One local spot that Lee had high praise for was Brunchaholics in DeSoto, a brunch spot with a Creole twist that prompted him to leave a $2,000 tip. Last week, Lee teamed up with Brunchaholics again as part of his new collaboration with Micro- soft: The Reheat, an online video series that sees Lee catching up with three restaurants he previously featured. Brunchaholics, which will be presented in the series’ up- coming second episode, is singled out as a business that saw significant growth fol- lowing Lee’s visit. Growth can sometimes be hard to manage, however, and a TikTok trailer for the series presents long lines and overwhelmed kitchens as downsides of “the Keith Lee effect.” “Sometimes when me and my family re- view a spot, [...] things can get a little crazy,” Lee says in the trailer. “Sometimes what comes with that is that some of these busi- nesses might have to change overnight. And that’s not always easy.” Lee’s solution to the sharp increase in business is Copilot, an AI assistance soft- ware from Microsoft. Lee’s content may have sprung from a passion for food and highlighting small businesses, but Microsoft is largely in this game to plug its new toy. Jessie Washington at Brunchaholics seized the opportunity to be involved in the project. “They flew me out to LA for a couple of days and had a whole thing set up — camera crew, everything,” Washington tells the Ob- server. “I cooked some food and they filmed Dallas’ Carter High School’s CC Marching Machine drum line performed at the opening. City of Ate from p15 Lauren Drewes Daniels ANOTHER THING THAT H-E-B BRINGS TO A COMMUNITY, ASIDE FROM 250 JOBS, IS A BIT OF PHILANTHROPHY. Lauren Drewes Daniels Produce deals were abundant at Joe V’s H-E-B.
