H-E-B Buffalo Market

What would happen if H-E-B and Central Market spawned? Their love child would look like this gleaming new 68,000-square-foot supermarket that combines CM offerings—hand-picked produce, grass-fed beef, fresh-baked bread and a fish market offering scallops the size of a fist and Alaskan king craw a long as a ruler—with everyday grocery store basics like toilet paper, Diet Coke, Cheetos and Cheerios. The environmentally-friendly building, designed by the noted San Antonio architecture firm Lake/Flato, has a butterfly roof that collects rainwater and oversized coated windows to allow light in but not heat. The in-store pharmacy is pretty special, too. Longtime pharmacists from nearby Buffalo Pharmacy moved in after the drug store, a neighborhood landmark, was torn down to make way for the new supermarket. Also popular: a take-away cafe modeled after the one at Central Market. The only drawback: The parking lot is awfully small for a store this size.

Senior citizens at the Terrace, located next door, have their own private entrance.