Long Lines Greet Robbinsdale Hy-Vee Store Opening
The brand new Robbinsdale Hy-Vee opened its doors for the first time at 6 a.m. Long lines of people waiting to get in greeted Hy-Vee workers before the store opened.
“There’s buses pulling in. Cars pulling in. People just want to see what’s going on,” Dale Mitchell, store director of the Robbinsdale Hy-Vee.
Hy-Vee replaces a former Rainbow Foods that closed in 2013 and the Historic Terrace Theatre, which closed in 1999 and sat vacant until its demolition in 2016.
“I think it’s a big deal,” said Gina Swanson of Brooklyn Center. “There hasn’t been a grocery store around here since Rainbow closed and for a lot of people that don’t drive, this is close enough so they can get here.”
“This is a big deal,” said Kathy Schultz of Crystal, “because I miss Rainbow.”
Hy-Vee touts an abundance of locally grown fruits and veggies and a large food court, which includes dining options such as Market Grille, Hibachi Asian Grill and Hickory House Comfort Foods. There’s also made-to-order pizza station called Mia Pizza. Near the grocery store, there is a Starbucks, an attached municipal liquor store (which is run by the city), plus a Hy-Vee gas station and a Fast & Fresh convenience store.
“I like it it,” Swanson said. “It’s set up real nice. It’s a little bit different than the one in New Hope. But it was easy to find stuff.”
Hy-Vee’s road to Robbinsdale had many twists and turns. But now that the supermarket is open for business, they want to settle into the neighborhood.
“Hy-Vee’s a community partner,” Mitchell said. “We want to be a good neighbor to everybody that lives here. We want to do things in the community to help build it up.”
More Hy-Vees to Come
The Robbinsdale Hy-Vee store is the ninth in the Twin Cities and the third in the CCX News viewing area (One is in New Hope and another in Brooklyn Park). But there are more Hy-Vees to come. The Iowa-based grocery chain took over a former Cub Foods store on County Road 24 in Plymouth. A major remodel is ongoing with the possibility the store could be ready by late fall.
In Maple Grove, there’s plans for a Hy-Vee in the southwest part of the city near the Corcoran border. It’s slated to open by the end of next year. A second Maple Grove store is also in the works in the northern part of the city south of Highway 610 and east of Maple Grove Parkway. There’s no timeline set yet for the opening of that store.
