Cancel your Happy Hour plans in the cereal aisle.
West Des Moines, Iowa-based grocer Hy-Vee is shutting down all but a few of its in-store bars, while making further changes to its Market Grille dining facilities.
A Hy-Vee spokesperson on Wednesday confirmed the pub closures, which take effect May 1, but declined to say how many in-store bars are currently operating or how many will remain.
“We remain committed to providing a family-friendly atmosphere that prioritizes an exceptional experience for everyone,” Spokesperson Tina Potthoff said in an emailed statement.
Additionally, some Market Grille locations were full service, but now all will be limited service, with all orders placed at the counter, Potthoff said.
The changes come about three months after the Midwestern grocery chain said it would close all 79 Wahlburgers locations in its stores, replacing them with its Market Grille concept.
Hy-Vee currently has about 220 Market Grille and Market Grille Express locations in its more than 285 supermarkets across Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
The changes are designed to ensure consistency across the brand, Potthoff said.
“We had some stores that had bars and some that didn’t. We also had some stores that only had counter service and some that had full service,” she said. “Now a customer will know what kind of experience they can expect to have at our in-store Market Grille locations no matter what store they dine in.”
Going forward, made-to-order breakfast and lunch orders can be placed at the counter from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, Hy-Vee said, with dinner options like pizza, fried chicken, sushi and Chinese food available until 8 p.m., all of which can be consumed inside Market Grille locations.
In 2020, Hy-Vee announced it would replace some of its Market Grille locations with outposts of the Hingham, Massachusetts-based Wahlburgers burger chain, which was founded in 2011 by celebrity brothers Mark, Donnie and Paul Wahlberg.
In January, Wahlburgers CEO Randy Sharpe told Restaurant Business the chain was not happy with the performance of its restaurants inside Hy-Vee stores, saying they only made up a small portion of the concept’s total sales and that the brand intends to focus on traditional restaurants, not grocery stores.
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