Photo: Farragutful / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Hy-Vee started in 1930 when Charles Hyde and David Vredenburg opened a general store in Beaconsfield, in southern Iowa. The name is a combination of their names.
The company is employee-owned and headquartered in West Des Moines. It runs more than 280 stores in eight Midwestern states. Its slogan, “A helpful smile in every aisle,” came from a 1950s jingle.
Hy-Vee has added restaurants, pharmacies, fuel stations and online ordering. Many Wright County families drive to Hy-Vee in Fort Dodge or Mason City for big shopping trips.
Curt Hanneman writes for Clarion News Online.