Hy-Vee: Store welcomes Starbucks, Mia Pizza after remodel

Although it is not yet 10 years old, the Fairfield Hy-Vee store recently had its first big remodel.

'Hy-Vee always tried to keep up with trends,” said store director Lindsey Flanigan. 'We want to offer new and exciting things to customers … but keep things that are important to our customers.”

When customers enter the store, the first thing they probably notice is that the Italian Express is closed and the Asian Express is relocated. A Starbucks coffee shop now sits to the left of the entry/exit foyer, where those two food expresses had been located.

The dining area remains in the northeast corner of the store, but it is more open, and four flat screen TVs are mounted on the wall, each tuned in to a different station for diners' viewing.

A diner has been added to the kitchen. The diner is a throwback to a 1950s style, complete with several comfortable stools at a counter. The menu includes breakfast, lunch and dinner items, as well as kids' meals, a la carte items and beverages.

The Asian Express is now adjacent to the diner, and continues to offer diners' favorite dishes, including sushi.

A customer might not notice, but the remodel included all new produce tables, and new meat cases were installed, also.

'The engineering team did a great job redesigning the store's layout,” said Flanigan.

The layout includes the addition of two grocery aisles.

'There is a good flow, and the placement of products makes sense,” Flanigan continued. 'But change is always hard. We've moved everything in the store. That's the most negative comments we've heard. But we're here to help. We know where things are; ask and we'll help you find what you are looking for.”

On the west side of the store, a mother's room has been added near the restrooms. The room is designed to provide privacy for a nursing mother and her baby. The new room has a comfortable chair and footstool, a flat-screen TV, and a sink.

'It is a very nice room for mothers,” said Flanigan. 'We've even had an employee with a new baby use it. While she was working, her baby was brought in, and she was able to nurse the baby right here.”

Also along the west side of the store, customers will notice the former wine and spirit section is closed. The wines and spirits have been brought into the main store, and the alcove is now empty.

'We are going to use it for our upcoming big truckload sale, but corporate is looking to rent it out,” said Flanigan. She said that people who have an interest in the space are being referred to the Hy-Vee corporate real estate office.

At the front of the store, eight self-checkout registers have been added as a convenience to shoppers.

The Fairfield Hy-Vee Gas also saw some changes, continued Flanigan.

'It is basically the same building, but it got a face-lift with new wallpaper and paint,” she said. 'It's rebranded as Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh Express.”

The store's Caribou Coffee was closed when Starbucks opened in the main food store. The spot is now occupied by Hy-Vee's Mia Pizza. Mia Pizza offers customers an opportunity to purchase fresh made signature or build-your-own pizzas.

'Starbucks and Mia Pizza have gotten good receptions,” said Flanigan. 'Now, we are settling into the changes, and we hope we are done for a little bit.”

Flanigan has been the Fairfield Hy-Vee store director for 19 months. She is originally from Mapleton, which is near Sioux City in the western part of Iowa. She was in the Omaha area for 10 years before moving to Fairfield.

'Fairfield is so welcoming, it has been an easy transition,” Flanigan said. 'When you move to a new town four hours from home, you never know what you are getting into, but it's been great.”

Flanigan pointed out Hy-Vee has always been about giving back to the community that supports the store.

'We support various organizations with donations regularly,” she said, listing the local Kiwanis, Lions and Rotary clubs as examples. She also listed the local school districts, with programs like the Fairfield High School Students of the Month recognition.

'Hy-Vee has over 265 stores, but each can support things locally, without corporate approval,” Flanigan continued. 'That is good business for the towns. … Hy-Vee started in a small town, so it has loved keeping the communities as a focus of their business.”

With a goal to provide 'good merchandise, appreciative service and low prices,” Charles Hyde and David Vredenburg opened a small store in Beaconsfield in 1930. By the end of 1948, there were 29 stores.

The original Fairfield Hy-Vee opened June 2, 1950, in a former A&P Company location at 500 W. Burlington Ave., where the Imperial Buffet is today. The A&P Company was closing its stores in smaller cities in Iowa to concentrate on larger operations. Wilson 'Bill” Clemons, who later became a Hy-Vee vice president, was the first manager.

In 1952, a contest was held to rename the stores, which were operating under the names of 'Supply Store” or 'Service Store,” preceded by the name of the town. The local store was called Fairfield Supply Food Store. The winning name, Hy-Vee, was formed from a contraction of the co-founders' names Hyde and Vredenburg. The Fairfield store was the first one to have a sign with the new 'Hy-Vee” name.

In 1958, the Fairfield Hy-Vee moved to 1301 W. Burlington Ave., into the building that now houses the Sears Hometown Store. The new building was a 150- by 68-foot modern brick structure.

The Fairfield Hy-Vee marked its 20 anniversary in 1970, with a move to a new supermarket at 2000 W. Burlington Ave. The new building allowed Hy-Vee to enlarge and modernize present departments and to add new ones, including an in-store bakery and a delicatessen.

In 1972-73, a Ben Franklin Family Center was built west of Hy-Vee. The Ben Franklin store closed in May 1987, and was vacant until Hy-Vee bought it in August 1992. The Ben Franklin building was torn down and replaced with a new Hy-Vee store that opened at 2100 W. Burlington Ave., in 1994. Customers found more than double the space, new departments and services, including a flower shop, a salad bar with a soup pot, seating for 128 in the dining area adjoining the deli, and a bakery offering individualized items. The number of employees rose from about 100 or 120 to 150. This is the building now occupied by True Value.

The current Hy-Vee opened in April 2011 at 1300 W. Burlington Ave. The old building on the site was torn down. At one time, it had housed a Gibsons/Pamida store, then an EcoFoods. Various businesses had been in the shopping center space next to the department store over the years, including a video-rental store, a discount grocery store, a Sears store and others.

Fairfield's new Hy-Vee store was the company's second store built in accordance with LEED standards, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and are the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance 'green” buildings.

Highlights of the new store included a food court featuring Asian and Italian specialties; a HealthMarket offering a wide selection of natural and organic products and foods for specific dietary needs; the services of an on-site dietitian; a pharmacy with drive-up service; an attached wine and spirits store; a club room for meetings, classes and events; and expanded selections of produce, bakery, meat, seafood and frozen food products. The new store brought an additional 125 jobs and an investment of more than $13 million to the Fairfield economy.

The Hy-Vee Gas opened in January 2013 at 1310 W. Burlington Ave., at the corner of Burlington and South 14th Street, where Pizza Hut had been before building its new restaurant further west on Burlington.

Flanigan said there are close to 300 employees at the Fairfield Hy-Vee and Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh Express.