Hy-Vee is Making Three Big Changes to Several Stores This Spring
Customers who like a boozy pick-me-up when they shop at Hy-Vee might have to cherish the sips of their next cocktails at the grocery store, as the regional chain just announced two major changes in their operation will be taking effect later this spring.
The news was reported by The Des Moines Register. Earlier this year, Hy-Vee made the announcement that it would be transitioning all its in-store restaurant locations across the Midwest to Hy-Vee Market Grille locations. The "Market Grille" namesake has been familiar to longtime shoppers of Hy-Vee for years. However, many "Market Grille" restaurants inside Hy-Vee stores went away after the company partnered with the Wahlburgers restaurant chain.
Hy-Vee spokesperson Tina Potthoff told The Des Moines Register this week that several Hy-Vee locations will be ending bar service as well as eliminating waitstaff for its in-store Market Grille restaurants.
Alcoholic beverages will no longer be served in Market Grilles in the Des Moines metro, Potthoff noted, expressing the company's desire to provide a family-friendly atmosphere. However, there's also a major change coming to the Market Grilles as the restaurants make a comeback inside Hy-Vee stores across the Midwest.
The Hy-Vee in West Des Moines will soon have customers place their Market Grille orders at the counter, eliminating the need for a waitstaff. Current servers were offered jobs in food service or other departments in the store, Potthoff said.
This will be a drastic change from convention, as Hy-Vee Market Grille stores were known for being comparable to a full-blown sit-down restaurant, from their food offerings to the wait service. In addition, Market Grille dinner offerings will be eliminated. Breakfast and lunch will still be offered daily, from 6am - 2pm, but after that, the Market Grille will not offer any special dinner options.
That said, customers will still have the ability to order from one of the store's food counters, or opt for Hy-Chi Chinese food/sushi, or fried chicken, and have the liberty to dine in the Market Grilles until 8pm. They just won't be afforded a separate dinner menu to peruse.
The Des Moines Register added that Hy-Vee launched their Market Grille concept in 2012. Several years later, around 2017/2018, Hy-Vee announced they would be building and operating 26 Wahlburgers restaurants inside of Hy-Vee's Market Grilles. More than 80 Market Grille locations ended up rebranded as Wahlburgers.
This year, however, Hy-Vee has reversed course, closing the standalone Wahlburgers restaurants and converting them back into Market Grilles. Hy-Vee apparently designed new menus in order to offer a wider variety of choices for families, individuals, and breakfast groups, all while prioritizing lower prices. Other traditional breakfast items that will be on the menu include omelets, biscuits & gravity, pancakes, French toast, and breakfast burritos.
While it does appear that these changes are predominately impacting Hy-Vee stores in the Des Moines metro area, time will tell if they will trickle to the three Hy-Vee locations in Dubuque. For more information, visit The Des Moines Register's website.
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