Did You Know? Texas Historical Marker #17715 | The H-E-B Origin Story in Kerrville, Texas
In 1905, Charles C. Butt and Florence Thornton Butt opened a small grocery store in Kerrville with a $60 investment and a simple idea: serve the community well. That store—located on Main Street with the family living upstairs—became the foundation of what we now know as H-E-B.
What stands out is not just the growth, but how that growth happened.
Florence Butt’s commitment to service shaped her son Howard E. Butt, Sr., who literally grew up delivering groceries in a baby carriage and a red wagon. His decision to modernize operations, expand thoughtfully, and invest in Texas-grown products helped transform a Hill Country store into a statewide institution.
Today, H-E-B is:
The largest private employer in Texas
One of the largest privately held companies in the United States
A company that consistently reinvests in Texas communities, workforce, agriculture, and disaster response
At The Building Texas Show, we talk a lot about what it means to build Texas. H-E-B is a living case study.
This isn’t just a grocery company. It’s a workforce engine. A supply-chain builder. A community anchor. And a reminder that long-term impact comes from a simple principle Howard E. Butt, Sr. lived by:
“He profits most who serves best.”
More than a century later, that philosophy is still shaping Texas—store by store, city by city, family by family.
This is Texas history.
This is Texas business.
This is Building Texas.
