Instabooze
H-E-B and Favor launch free one-hour booze delivery service in Houston
For Houstonians, throwing an impromptu Fourth of July cookout just got a whole lot easier. Keeping up with Amazon’s recent addition of beer and wine delivery through its Prime Now service, H-E-B and Austin-based delivery service Favor are jumping into the insta-booze game.
On June 29, the San Antonio-based grocery chain announced it is now offering free deliveries of beer, cider, sake, and wine within an hour to customers in the Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and Corpus Christi metropolitan areas through Labor Day. That means you'll have delivery within three innings of Astros baseball, one episode of your favorite streaming episode, or the early stage of your cookout.
To order, click on the “H-E-B Beer & Wine” banner in the Favor app or order online. Free delivery will automatically applied, but orders do require a $2 or more tip for runners. No order minimum is necessary and available selections vary by city.
Currently, the app lists craft beer selections ranging from Texas favorites like Live Oak, Lone Pint Brewing, and Saint Arnold to beer nerd standbys like Two Hearted Ale from Michigan’s Bell’s Brewery. There is also a good selection of domestic and international wines grouped by category.
Local selections will include craft brewers, like Buffalo Bayou Brewing, No Label Brewing, Lone Pint Brewery, and 8th Wonder Brewery, and wines from the Texas Hill Country. (And if you must order a secret six-pack of Smirnoff Ice, Favor is more than glad to accommodate.)
Beer and wine delivery in Houston and Pearland will be available 7 am to 11 pm, Monday through Friday; 7 am to midnight on Saturday; and noon to 11 pm on Sunday.
Beer and wine delivery in Katy, The Woodlands, Sugar Land, and Lake Houston areas will be available 11 am to 10 pm Monday through Saturday and noon to 10 pm on Sunday.
And to those college freshmen hoping to throw a dorm room rager, do note that valid ID proving you are 21 or older is required at the door.
The service is the latest move to compete in an increasingly competitive market dominated by giants like Walmart and Amazon, who purchased Whole Foods Market in July 2017. Since acquiring Favor in February, H-E-B has added curbside pick-up and a grocery delivery service to its growing list of services..
In a release, H-E-B chief operating officer Martin Otto teased more delivery news may be on the horizon.“This is only the beginning of what’s to come from our powerful partnership,” said Otto.
