Shopping Trends

Austin stores in line for new Central Market delivery service

Supermarkets are all about making your shopping easier these days.

Photo courtesy of Central Market

In the latest stroke of supermarket convenience, Central Market is debuting curbside service at select Texas stores.

The first location for the service is in Fort Worth, where it begins February 15. Central Market will add it at select stores in Austin, Dallas, Plano, and Houston. The date has not been announced, but construction is underway at the two stores in Austin, at 4001 N. Lamar Blvd. and at 4477 S. Lamar Blvd.

H-E-B, Central Market's parent company, has already launched more than 100 curbside locations at H-E-B stores throughout Texas. Kroger and Walmart also offer curbside services. This doesn't even get into all of the companies currently offering delivery of groceries to your house.

To use Central Market's service, customers make a grocery list and place their orders online at centralmarket.com/shop, then schedule a pick-up time. Orders must be placed at least four hours prior to the scheduled pick-up time. Pickups are available from 8 am-9 pm.

Central Market staffers do the shopping and pack the grocery order.

At the Fort Worth store, there are reserved parking spaces designated for the service. Customers park, then text the number listed on their parking stall sign to alert employees they have arrived. Employees bring the groceries to the car and load them.

The ordering form allows customers to make specific requests, says the Fort Worth store's general manager, Austin Jourde, in a release.

"If a customer would like to specifically request an avocado that is ripe and ready today along with another avocado that will be ripe in a few days, the online order form allows them to make those notes and our partners will deliver on that request," Jourde says. "Our curbside shopping team has been trained to shop to specifications and details and also to build relationships with our customers."

There's no minimum order, but there is a pick-up fee of $4.95, plus a 3 percent personal shopping fee added to the order total. As an introduction, the first four deliveries are free. Customers can place orders anytime and can schedule orders up to seven days in advance.

shopping trends supermarkets

Games on the Go

This outdoorsy mountain trolley is now a vintage arcade in Austin

Photo courtesy of the Austin Arcade Trolley

The trolley still bears most of the markings from its past life in Tennessee.

Some classic arcade games are now on the go in Austin with the launch of the Austin Arcade Trolley. Housed in a renovated trolley car, this new mobile arcade shows off eight vintage 80s and 90s games, while keeping some of the transportation nostalgia intact, too.

Austin Arcade Trolley owner and ex-corporate salesman Trey Tschoepe said in a press release that the idea came about after attending birthday parties with his 6-year-old daughter. The parties inspired a desire to "keep Austinites young at heart." It wasn't intended as a business, but Austinites can now book it for their own events.

The vintage games include:

NBA Jam
Golden Tee
Ms. Pacman
Atari
The Simpsons
NFL Blitz
Mortal Kombat
Street Fighter II

Austin Arcade Trolley interior Even though the aesthetics are different, both halves of this bus are very retro.Photo courtesy of the Austin Arcade Trolley

It's not just limited to those classics, though; a 55-inch screen will let guests play more than 30,000 other games. Minecraft, Roblox, and Tetris are a few of those offerings.

“Not only are we delivering nostalgic fun that accessible to all ages, but we’re also doing it in style with a vintage trolley car converted into a mobile arcade," said Tschoepe. "There’s truly nothing else like this in Texas or anywhere else.”

There certainly are other mobile arcades, but the trolley is unique not just for its vintage selection but a delightfully outdoorsy look. The back of the vehicle looks like an arcade, but the front and exterior sidestep the expected design elements — neon colors, envisionings of cyberspace — by keeping everything as-is.

Austin Arcade Trolley interior This part of the trolley basically looks like any other mobile arcade.Photo courtesy of the Austin Arcade Trolley

The wooden interior still has some passenger benches, and the outside even displays its original affiliation: the Tennessee town of Pigeon Forge, where it was designated a "Fun Time Trolley."

Tschoepe did put some work in, even though he kept the aesthetic intact. He purchased the decommissioned car in May 2024 and spent six months implementing custom woodwork and other design updates.

Now it can fit 15 guests in the arcade section, with space for 7 more in the seating section. There's also wifi and air-conditioning, and guests are encouraged to bring their own snacks and drinks onboard.

Austin Arcade Trolley interior This part of the trolley brings light to an airier side of gaming.Photo courtesy of the Austin Arcade Trolley

The trolley is available for hourly booking every day. The case price is $375 including delivery, setup, and unlimited play within the booking time, which happens in two-hour increments. It can travel around Austin as well as to Round Rock, Cedar Park, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Leander, Dripping Springs, Bee Cave, Buda, Kyle, and Lakeway.

Tschoepe welcomes kids and adults for birthdays, bachelor and bachelorette parties, weddings, corporate and team-building events, and anywhere else it's needed.

“We’re excited to spread the fun throughout Central Texas," he said.

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