DES MOINES, Iowa — The Hy-Vee in downtown Des Moines is the main grocery store for those who live downtown. However, the store has recently moved to reduce its hours, frustrating some residents.
The Hy-Vee, located on Court Avenue, recently reduced its hours to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., a change from it's 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. schedule.
Hy-Vee says these hour changes are due to a decrease in customers during the early morning and late evening hours, and an increase in theft and loitering after 6 p.m.
In a statement, Hy-Vee spokesperson, Tina Potthoff said: "On Feb. 5, we shifted store hours at our Fourth & Court location to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., 7 days a week. Since the pandemic, the number of customers we serve during the early morning and evening hours has significantly decreased at this location as more people who previously worked downtown now work from home. Additionally, theft and loitering at this location has increasingly become a problem, especially after 6 p.m. To put this into perspective, Des Moines Police were contacted for various incidents at the store more than 200 times over the last 6 months. We are making changes to ensure the safety of our customers and employees. We will continue to evaluate this store’s hours of operation and layout to accommodate the needs of the downtown community."
However, downtown residents say this store is their main place to grocery shop, so the hour changes give them little flexibility.
"I’m kind of irritated obviously," said Liz Fleming, a downtown Des Moines resident. "You know, it interrupts everyone’s daily life, and I get it that it’s just groceries, but it feels so much bigger than that."
Fleming adds that the schedule change came abruptly and customers would have appreciated a warning.
“Last night I needed to pick up eggs from the grocery store, something so simple while I was making dinner, walked over to Hy-Vee saw a sign on the door, I got there by 6:30 but at 6 o'clock, the store was completely closed," Fleming said.
Ward 3 Councilmember Josh Mandelbaum says the city didn't get any warning that the grocery store planned to change it's operating hours, which violates a development agreement between Hy-Vee and the city.
“There was no request for a change in hours, there was just this notification, so that’s why we reached out to the developer and Hy-Vee to address this issue," Mandelbaum said.
In a statement, the city's Office of Economic Development said, "Generally, once the City is aware of a potential development agreement issue, we make good faith efforts to work with the business on agreeable solutions before issuing a written notice. Once/if there is an official written notice, Hy-Vee would have 45 days to “cure” or take corrective actions or strategies to rectify a problem or deficiency in the economic development project or agreement."
Residents say that without this grocery store, they will need to drive and plan more of their grocery trips out, making it more inconvenient and time consuming.
“This is my regular grocery store," Fleming said. "I walk here, I pick up snacks, full groceries, I pick up my prescriptions here. If I don’t have [the] downtown Hy-Vee, it will require me to either take the bus or take a drive to the next location, could be 15-20 minute drive just one way."
Hy-Vee is now working with the city to find a solution that is best for their customers and residents.
In a statement to Local 5, Deputy City Manager Matt Anderson said, "The City is aware of the recent change to the downtown Hy-Vee's daily operating hours. We reached out to our contact, per the Development Agreement, Knapp Properties, to initiate a conversation with Hy-Vee. We’ll be working with Hy-Vee to understand the complexities of the situation in the coming days. As the downtown population continues to grow, it is a priority to ensure that residents maintain access to a full-service grocery store in a way that accommodates their everyday schedules.”
There is no timeline on when this agreement and solution will be made. However, the city and Hy-Vee were working on this matter on Wednesday, Feb. 7.