Central Market’s Broadway cafe and prepared-food hall are back in business after a months-long renovation, and San Antonians are already sizing up the overhaul. The familiar prepared-food showcases have returned and there is far more room to sit and linger, but a tighter floor plan and a few missing sandwich options have some longtime shoppers wondering what exactly they gained in the trade.
According to H‑E‑B's newsroom, the Broadway store marked the opening of its revamped food service area on June 26, rolling out expanded deli, bakery, sushi and chef-prepared cases. The cafe itself has been shifted to the building’s northern end and now has its own dedicated Cafe entrance. The company also points to an artisan bread wall, made-in-house tortillas, in-house gelato, expanded seating and multiple self-checkout registers in the refreshed zone.
New programs and a burger focus
Industry coverage notes that the redesign brings in a newly developed burger and sandwich program, along with a larger production space so Partners can handle more prep work on-site. Progressive Grocer reports that every department scored new fixtures and equipment, and that the layout at the northern end was reworked so the cafe and food hall now sit more directly side by side.
Early kinks and customer reaction
Not everything is running perfectly out of the gate. A MySA walkthrough found the path around the prepared-food showcases is now noticeably narrower, which means more shoulder bumps and a lot of “excuse me” as people try to snake past one another. One customer told MySA, “What's the point?” after learning that chicken, ciabatta and paninis were temporarily off the build-your-own sandwich menu. Outside, the parking lot is still sliced up by small cranes and fencing while façade work continues.
What shoppers should know
Even with the hiccups, the renewed cafe and larger dining area turn this Central Market back into a legitimate lunch and coffee stop, with plenty of indoor seating and coffee roasted by Central Market. In a statement via H‑E‑B's newsroom, the company said the cafe actually reopened earlier this spring and that curbside service, a pharmacy drive-thru and additional parking spaces are among the phases already wrapped.
Renovation timeline and what's next
The larger overhaul of the store is far from finished and is expected to continue into 2027, with updated front-end checkout and floral areas slated to debut this fall. Earlier reporting from MySA shows the multi-phase project will keep rolling out through next year as H‑E‑B completes both façade and interior remodels.
So if you are swinging by for lunch, it might be wise to bring some patience along with your appetite for the new burger program. The cranes and fencing in the lot are sticking around for a while, but later phases are expected to deliver a fuller menu and a more polished dining setup.
