Hy-Vee is Ending its Short-Lived Dollar Store Concept

Hy-Vee announced it will be retiring one of its secondary brands by 2027, and has plans to transition the remaining locations into smaller-scale versions of Hy-Vee.

Per The Des Moines Register, Hy-Vee confirmed their Dollar Fresh stores will no longer exist by 2027. The concept was tailored to compete with stores like Dollar General, and stores existed predominately in rural towns around the Midwest where residents often rely on Dollar General for groceries. In 2017, Hy-Vee revealed plans to open Dollar Fresh stores shortly after Dollar General announced it was opening 900 new stores across the country.

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Why Hy-Vee is Ending the Dollar Fresh Experiment:

The main difference between Dollar Fresh and Dollar General was the former sought to offer more fresh foods than its competitors in stores roughly 10,000 to 30,000 square-feet in size. At peak, there were 25 Dollar Fresh locations with many existing around eastern Iowa.

Ultimately, however, the stores weren't attracting the volume of customers that justified keeping them in business. In late 2025, Hy-Vee moved to close underperforming locations in Omaha, Lexington, and Glencoe, MN, per The Des Moines Register. Now, the 16 remaining Dollar Fresh stores will be converted into Hy-Vees.

The Des Moines Register also revealed a timetable for when the remaining Dollar Fresh locations will be converted into Hy-Vee stores:

Orange City, Iowa — summer/fall 2026
West Point, Nebraska — fall 2026
Cresco, Iowa — fall 2026
Hampton, Iowa — fall 2026
Geneseo, Illinois — fall 2026
Toledo, Iowa — fall 2026
Emmetsburg, Iowa — fall 2026
Nevada, Iowa — fall 2026
Maquoketa, Iowa — fall/winter 2026
Manchester, Iowa — winter 2026
Nebraska City, Nebraska — winter 2026
Waukon, Iowa — winter 2026
Vinton, Iowa — 2027
Independence, Iowa — 2027
York, Nebraska — 2027
Oelwein, Iowa — 2027

Hy-Vee Spokesperson Tina Potthoff detailed what the conversion process of the remaining Dollar Fresh stores will look like as well:

In addition to the grocery staples that customers previously had with Dollar Fresh Market, customers will also be able to enjoy additional amenities and departments, as well as up to 10,000 new items, including Hy-Vee’s store brand and specialty foods. Some of the new features that are being added to these locations include: full-service bakery, full-service meat counter and Candy Shoppes - Hy-Vee Spokesperson Tina Potthoff, per The Des Moines Register