A Texas Historical Commission marker has stood at FM 105 and FM 2854 in Montgomery since 1966. It's a 27-by-42-inch plaque titled "Charles Bellinger Stewart," and the commission lists its condition as "in situ," meaning it is still where it was first placed. H-E-B has now built Montgomery's first store on that corner. Store #823 is at 20025 Eva St., and the company set Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, as opening day.
Montgomery already had a Kroger on Eva Street and a long-standing Brookshire Brothers. What this store adds sits mostly beyond the grocery aisles: hot food counters, a pharmacy drive-thru, fuel and a car wash. Most of the other errands people run along Eva Street are now within a few hundred address numbers of the front door.
The plaque honors a Secretary of State
The marker text doesn't mention a flag. It begins:
First Secretary of State in Texas (1806-1885). Came to Texas 1830. Secretary of State, Nov. 1835-Feb. 1836. Signed Declaration of Independence; helped to write Constitution of the Republic in 1836 and the State in 1845; served Montgomery County as District Attorney and three terms as State Representative.
The rest of the plaque is mostly a civics lesson on what a Texas Secretary of State does. It ends by noting that 83 men and two women had held the office after Stewart by 1966.
The flag story comes from other accounts. When the Houston Chronicle reported on the store in May 2025, it said the site was Stewart's homestead. The paper described him as the man credited with designing the Texas flag, as well as a pharmacist, doctor and political leader in early Montgomery. Mayor Sara Countryman told the Chronicle she hoped to work with H-E-B on giving the store "a special flavor" that honors the city's place in Texas history, and she put it this way: "The Lone Star Flag is one of the most recognized flags in the world. It's an icon and H-E-B is an icon." She also said a planned detention pond would have a "Texan feel," as Community Impact reported.
By the Chronicle's account, Stewart was a pharmacist, and the store going up on his homestead includes a pharmacy with a drive-thru.
Two grocers, catty-corner, with matching hours
The Houston Business Journal described the H-E-B site as catty-corner from a Kroger, which it called H-E-B's main rival in the Houston area. Kroger's own locator puts its Montgomery store at 20168 Eva St.
Both stores keep the same hours.
| Store | Address | Store hours | Pharmacy hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery H-E-B #823 | 20025 Eva St. | Daily, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. | Mon to Fri 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sat 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sun 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| Kroger Montgomery | 20168 Eva St. | Daily, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. | Not covered here |
With the same 17-hour window on both sides of the corner, store hours won't decide where a late milk run goes. The sections below cover what is different inside H-E-B's building.
The store is mostly food counters
The store is big. Community Impact reported it at about 127,000 square feet, and the state's TDLR project record lists 127,186 square feet and an estimated project cost of $30 million. The Chronicle reported that construction had to deal with the hilly property first.
Much of that space goes to food that's ready to eat or close to it. The H-E-B store page lists these food features for #823:
- True Texas BBQ, with catering
- Bayou Boil House
- Hot Soup Bar
- Sushiya Sushi
- South Flo Pizza, plus take-and-bake pizza
- Meal Simple, H-E-B's heat-and-eat and cook-at-home line
Community Impact also reported an outdoor seafood-boil area, a bakery and frozen foods. Dock Line Magazine noted that the store page also highlights in-house meat cutting and fresh seafood and produce.
True Texas BBQ catering and the Bayou Boil House counter at the same address make this store something more than a weekly grocery stop. A weeknight dinner, a tailgate tray or a lake-day lunch can all start here.
The errands that come with it
The pharmacy matters most here, because its hours are separate from the store's and it has a drive-thru. The store page also lists prescription delivery and immunizations. The pharmacy closes at 8 p.m. on weekdays, 6 p.m. on Saturday and 5 p.m. on Sunday, so its weekend hours are shorter than the store's.
The other services on the list are the kind people once made separate stops for:
- Business center. Open Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- ATM, Coinstar, Texas Lottery and plastic bag recycling.
- Curbside and delivery, both listed for this store.
- Fuel and a car wash on site.
- A bank branch, later. Wells Fargo filed for a branch inside the store and plans to open it in late 2027, according to Community Impact.
The site also has room for a restaurant. On Sept. 9, 2025, Montgomery City Council unanimously approved a special-use permit for a drive-thru for a future restaurant on the H-E-B tract, which covers the southeast corner of Hwy. 105 and FM 2854. City staff told council the lane would sit on the east side of the building, with cars lining up toward the rear, and city officials said it would not affect traffic on Hwy. 105. The restaurant's name hasn't been announced.
Eva Street, by address
Over the past year, the businesses on either side of the H-E-B have filled in the rest of a typical errand list. In address order:
- Casa Feliz Mexican Bar & Grill, 19794 Hwy. 105 W., Ste. 400. It's in the former Patio Cafe & Bar space under new ownership.
- Texas First, 19940 Eva St. This banking center combines Texas First Bank with the company's insurance and wealth management arms.
- Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming, 19970 Eva St., Ste. 102B. It opened Sept. 24, 2026, and offers baths, trims, stylized haircuts and nail grinding, plus raw, freeze-dried and oven-baked foods, Community Impact reported.
- Montgomery H-E-B #823, 20025 Eva St.
- Kroger, 20168 Eva St.
- TownWell Veterinary Clinic, 20873 Eva St., Suite B.
On one stretch of road, you can pick up groceries and a prescription, get the dog groomed, take a cat to the vet, stop at a bank and finish with enchiladas. You can do all of it without getting back on Hwy. 105 toward Conroe.
Two dinner options sit just off the strip. Ransom's Steakhouse & Saloon is at 300 CB Stewart Drive, on a street named for the same man as the marker. New Bridge Fusion Steakhouse opened Oct. 9, 2026, at 759 Pine Market Ave. and appears in Pine Market's directory.
Why the corner filled up now
The Chronicle offered one reason the growth came here. Countryman told the paper that Montgomery is not under a water moratorium like Conroe and Magnolia, which makes the city attractive for development. The project was not free for the city. A feasibility study in May 2024 estimated about $45,600 a year in property tax revenue against about $140,000 in public infrastructure costs. Dock Line Magazine reported that city council materials set one-time water and sewer impact fees for the store at $165,950.
Countryman told the Chronicle she expected the store to employ about 200 people. She described H-E-B's approach in the Houston Chronicle: "They have come into town and shopped and met with businesses and really tried to get a feel of who we are and what we're about." She also said, "The growth is coming. It is a train we can't stop so we have to embrace it."
The marker that went up in 1966 still stands at FM 105 and FM 2854. It now shares the corner with fuel pumps, a pharmacy drive-thru and a barbecue counter, and H-E-B lists Store #823's hours as 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day.
When a new anchor like this opens, people often start asking how it affects the homes on the streets around it. If you live near Eva Street and want to know what your home is worth with this corner now built out, Robin Bailey will give you a straight answer and a prompt call back. Request Your Free Home Valuation.
