Orange City, Iowa — For the past several weeks, rumors have been circulating about the possibility of a new grocery store being planned for Orange City.
The rumors indicated that a Hy-Vee store was planned for Orange City. KIWA reached out to Hy-Vee’s corporate office in West Des Moines and learned that the information that had been floating around was true. Sort of.
Hy-Vee Public Relations Director Christina Gayman says the company is planning to put a grocery store in the Sioux County town, but that it will be one of Hy-Vee’s Dollar Fresh stores. While Gayman confirmed the plans for a Dollar Fresh store to be opened in Orange City, she declined to give further information at this time, including possible locations for the proposed new store.
Early last year, Hy-Vee said that they would be turning several former Shopko stores into Dollar Fresh locations. That’s what happened in Emmetsburg, where they now have a Hy-Vee Dollar Fresh. But Orange City doesn’t have a former Shopko location where the store could go.
When they announced the news about the former Shopko locations, Hy-Vee gave people a little information about the Dollar Fresh concept:
Dollar Fresh locations are designed to offer customers in smaller communities a fresh, new product selection at low prices. Customers will find a full selection of grocery items, a bakery section with a full range of fresh-baked items, a dollar section, a Wall of Value, ready-to-eat meal offerings, and other services.
“As we continue to innovate, we’re taking a look at the needs of our rural communities,” said Randy Edeker, Hy-Vee’s chairman of the board, CEO and president. “At our Dollar Fresh stores, our customers will be greeted with helpful smiles that deliver a great customer experience while also encountering a wide selection of quality products at low prices.”
The March issue of Progressive Grocer says Dollar Fresh is Hy-Vee’s “answer to deep discounters like Aldi — which measure around 30,000 square feet and provide a high-quality product assortment at low prices in smaller communities…”
Gayman says their Dollar Fresh stores are smaller-format locations, but they do also have some Hy-Vee locations of similar size throughout their eight-state region.
Photo caption: A Dollar Fresh Store courtesy hyvee.com.
