Hy-Vee Readies for Largest-ever Store

Hy-Vee’s store at 86th and Douglas in Urbandale, Iowa, will close for a month on July 15 to enable the regional retailer to prepare for the opening of a replacement store which will be the its largest to date and which will incorporate several new departments and features unique to the location.

With the countdown on for the new Urbandale Hy-Vee store set to open August 14, Josh Asche, store director, explains that while every new store is special in its own way, "This is perhaps the most innovative store Hy-Vee has ever built. We’ve visited retailers throughout the country, looking at different store formats, and we’ve taken the best concepts we’ve seen and adapted them to create a whole new shopping experience for our customers.”

A centerpiece of the new Urbandale Hy-Vee store will be the company’s first Market Fresh Grille, a casual dining spot that converts to a full-service restaurant starting at 4 p.m. Evening customers at Market Fresh Grille will be served by trained wait staff, order from a menu created by the store’s chefs, and have the opportunity to enjoy a variety of wines and craft beers with their meals.

Other innovations at the new Urbandale Hy-Vee include a sushi bar with seating, a coffee shop/lounge area with stone fireplace, authentic Italian gelato, a fruit and juice bar, an oatmeal bar for breakfast, pizzas fired in a wood stone oven, a large wine & spirits shop, an expanded housewares section with a cooking demonstration area, and what Asche called “the largest selection of bulk foods in central Iowa.” There will also be a section devoted to Chef’s Creations – meals, entrees, side dishes and desserts prepared by Hy-Vee chefs and specially packaged for takeout.

Asche said it’s unusual for Hy-Vee to close an existing store before its replacement is ready to open, but in the case of the new Urbandale, it couldn’t be avoided.

“We need to make sure we have sufficient parking available for our customers for the grand opening on August 14th, and to do that, we need to tear down the existing store building, level the site and build our parking lot,” he said. “It will take about a month to accomplish all that, which is why the existing store is closing July 15th at 6 p.m.”

Hy-Vee wants to make sure customers of the pharmacy and the Midwest Heritage Bank branch inside the store do not experience any interruption of service during the transition, Asche said, noting that the pharmacy and Midwest Heritage Bank will be open in the new Urbandale Hy-Vee beginning July 16. The store also will offer free prescription delivery and drive-up service for pharmacy customers.

Hy-Vee is sending a letter to residents in the vicinity of the store, explaining the transition and offering incentives to encourage them to shop at other area Hy-Vee stores during the month the Urbandale store is closed. “Our customers have been terrific throughout the building process, and we wanted to show our appreciation for their loyalty and reward them for continuing to shop at Hy-Vee,” said Asche, adding that Urbandale store employees will spend the month training in the new facility or working at other Hy-Vee stores in the metro area.

“Everyone is working together to make this transition as smooth as possible for our customers,” Asche said. “We can’t wait to open the doors to our new store on August 14th.”

The W. Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee, Inc. is an employee-owned corporation operating 235 retail stores in eight Midwestern states.