Hy-Vee’s new smaller format grocery store features sushi and other seafood dishes to go, the retailer recently revealed.
The 249-store chain, based in West Des Moines, Iowa, opened its first Fast & Fresh store in Davenport, Iowa, in mid-December. The 10,000-square-foot store – the first of several small-format stores for Hy-Vee – features a smaller selection of groceries than the retailer's traditional storefronts, but boasts a wide selection of “take-and-heat” meals and Hy-Vee Mealtime Kits.
The new Fast & Fresh location also includes a drive-through Starbucks, a gas station, a craft beef station, wood-oven pizza, donuts, as well as wine and spirits.
While Fast & Fresh does not feature a fresh or frozen seafood section, it offers several varieties of fresh sushi, which are prepared at a nearby Hy-Vee store, Christina Gayman, director of public relations for Hy-Vee, told SeafoodSource.
The store also offers a few fresh, healthy prepared meals featuring seafood, including an Asian Garlic Shrimp Bowl and Smoked Salmon Pasta, according to Gayman.
The concept is “intended to serve the busy customer who needs a more convenient grocery and meal experience while on the go,” Hy-Vee said in a press release.
Hy-Vee plans to open a second Fast & Fresh location in Altoona, Iowa, sometime this year.
“Our Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh location in Davenport is the first of its kind; however, we already have plans for several more to open across our eight-state area in 2019,” Gayman said.
A longtime advocate of sustainable seafood – including 100 percent sustainable sushi – Hy-Vee will promote its seafood sustainability message via point-of-sale materials at its Fast & Fresh stores. “However, due to the smaller footprint of the Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh, space will be limited for signage specifically related to seafood sustainability,” Gayman said.
