Hy-Vee Reveals Super-Sized Convenience Store Plans

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Hy-Vee Inc. is looking to firm up its presence in the Twin Cities with a super-sized convenience store and gas station in Lakeville.

The grocery retailer's c-store location will feature prepared meals; scaled-down versions of its typical produce, dairy and meat departments; and a Market Grill restaurant. A Starbucks coffee shop will be tucked in one corner of the store, according to TwinCities.com.

"What we're trying to do with this concept is meet the needs of those folks who live busy lives," Phil Hoey, the company's real estate director, told the Lakeville City Council this week shortly before the lawmakes gave Hy-Vee the go-ahead to build.

The c-store will measure 8,800 square feet, compared to typical convenience stores that range between 1,500 and 5,000 square feet. The store will take up two lots and be situated three miles from a 91,000-square-foot Hy-Vee supermarket, according to the report.

Hy-Vee already operates 142 smaller convenience stores, including 16 in Minnesota, throughout its eight-state business region.  

Hy-Vee's expansion plans into the Twin Cities have included building convenience stores that would serve as mini grocery stores with gas pumps, as CSNews Online previously reported.

Hy-Vee spokeswoman Tara Deering-Hansen told the news outlet that the company is looking for other sites in the market to build additional super-sized c-stores. The retailer submitted similar plans to Eden Prairie officials in September, but the project was scrapped because of site access issues, the report added.

Des Moines-based Hy-Vee is an employee-owned corporation operating more than 240 retail stores.