Hy-Vee

Not impressed with this hy-​vee. The employees working in the liquor store are always very friendly, customer service not so much. Bought a lottery ticket guy sneezed and proceeded to grab my ticket. When he handed it to me there was snot and slobber all over it. When I demanded a new one he got snarky with me and asked what was wrong with the one he got for me. I told him I asked for a lottery ticket not a snot rag. He got upset but did get me a new one. Thank goodness because I won $ 50 from the new one

When I moved to Ames in 1999, from small town Iowa, I had no idea a grocery store like this could exist! How many places in the world can you get a salad bar, Chinese food, pizza and more and thats just in the hot food section. This is also a grocery store to the max with great healthy selections and friendly smiles! They have it all from pharmacy to flowers!
This was my education in what a great shopping experience could be! I have probably been here 500 times since!
I love this store from top to bottom!

Perishables Manager Steve Loder just delivered a goodie bag with a fresh pizza and a free movie. There was a misunderstanding earlier this week about their Halloween event for kids. They went so far out of their way to take care of our kids that HyVee has earned my respect 10 times over. Thank you so much.

Loooove going to this HyVee in the morning and seeing sweet George there. He’s worked there forever and a day.
It’s a nice grocery store, though some things really are seriously overpriced.
The service is usually pretty good though some of the college kids that work there are seriously jaded and unfriendly. Don’t work at a grocery store if you don’t want to smile.
They’re open ²⁴⁄₇ but if you go in there for a late night run there will only be one or two lane opens and the lines can take forever.

Large, clean store with incredibly friendly staff. This particular location has a nice meat selection at the butcher counter. Ask for John, he knows his stuff.

Decent vegan selection for a regular grocery store, which I appreciate. However, every time I come after eight pm there’s only one or two lanes open and very long lines.

This Hy-​Vee recently finished a significant renovation, and although it’s a little confusing to maneuver at first, this store is a super place to shop for selection and service. The Café part (which seems to be a Midwest thing) now has even more food bar choices. And who knew that this space was once occupied by a K-​Mart?

I’ll probably come back and update this review, as it’s currently being renovated.
This Hy-​Vee is on the other end of town, so I don’t usually stop at this one, but occasionally I’m heading that direction already, so this is where I wind up.
The remodel really seems to be adding a lot of floor space, which was needed at this Hy-​Vee. But it also seems to be moving things around to different places — and NOT the same places as the Hy-​Vee on the other end of Lincoln Way. I would always assume that chains would like each location laid out the same to make it easier for their customers. Hy-​Vee apparently does not agree with that philosophy.
Also, a lot of the new refrigerated cases at this location have doors, where other locations have them open. I understand that this is a great way to save energy, but it makes it even harder to find things that just aren’t in the same spot in the store that you’re used to.

The 5 stars is primarily out of nostalgia, since its really only a slight exaggeration to say I practically grew up in this grocery store. This location is really close to my parents house and is the primary place they’ve been shopping since before I was born. When I was really little my father would push me around in the cart when he went grocery shopping. When I got a little older I would come here with one or both of my parents for breakfast. In high school, all my friends worked as grocery baggers here, since its the only job you can get before you turn 16.
Positives:
–The breakfasts (hashbrowns, eggs, and pancakes) in the deli area are surprisingly great and really cheap, like $ 4 for a combo with all those things
–Employee owned
–Open ²⁴⁄₇
–Cheap. although I can’t really say how it compares to other grocery stores in Iowa, its much cheaper than any place I’ve shopped at since leaving the state
–Cakes in the bakery area are good & can be done with really cool decorations & themes, I always had one for my birthday parties growing up
–Vision center where I got my first pair of glasses at the age of 26 (law school ruined my vision)
–Starbucks inside the grocery store
–Post office counter inside to save you having to make a trip to the real post office, something everyone dreads… this alone is worth 10 stars
Overall, I think Hy-​Vee is a really great (Midwest-​based) grocery store chain & this location is my favorite, because of nostalgia and all the non-​grocery conveniences located in the store.

One of the best meat and deli sections of any large grocery store I have ever been to. The prices are also very reasonable.

Standard grocery store. Nothing special and definitely not the best prices. Produce is typically always fresh. But I prefer Fareway for my meats at unbeatable prices, and outstanding service. You don’t find service like that ever.

I wish that Hyvee existed in Colorado. I love that it’s employee owned, which makes me want to support it even more. This review and three start rating, however, aren’t focused on the grocery store itself, but on the buffet.
My boyfriend, who used Hyvee’s buffet for a hangover cure in college, brought me there when we were visiting. You could come to the buffet and easily consume a day’s worth of calories within minutes, or, you could make yourself a tasty salad topped with just about everything imaginable, then finish it off with a nice bowl of fruit. I’m not saying that’s what I did, I’m just saying you could if you wanted to. My plate was full of pizza, crab rangoons, and desserts– but I was on vacation so it didn’t count. All of it was pretty good;especially the desserts. Yum!
Even thought the food was pretty good, I am not usually a big fan of buffets– but that’s not why I knocked a couple of stars off of this review. While I was refilling my (salad) plate, I saw an employee walk up to the salad bar and, using the tongs, place fruit directly into her hand. I don’t know if it annoyed me because it was unsanitary or just plain rude. What would happen if a customer walked in and started piling their hands full of food? Gross, right? Maybe this employee just felt entitled since it’s an employee owned store.