Hy-Vee grocery stores are more than just grocery stores. More than 200 of their locations feature a restaurant on the premises. Seventy-nine of those restaurants were Wahlburgers, and the rest are their Market Grille concept.
After grocery shopping, you could pop into the Wahlburgers location and grab some fries and a burger before heading home.
That is coming to an end, though.
On Tuesday (Jan. 21), Hy-Vee announced that they will be closing all 79 Wahlburgers locations inside their stores in favor of their own Market Grille concept returning.
This takes a huge chunk out of the Wahlburgers footprint. When you included these locations, Wahlburgers had 109 locations, according to Restaurant Business Online. This move will bring the Wahlburgers footprint down to around 40.
Wahlburgers didn’t mince words when speaking about the closures. CEO Randy Sharpe says flatly that these Hy-Vee locations were underperforming and didn’t account for a large portion of Wahlburgers sales.
“We are growing restaurants,” Sharpe explains. “We’re not going to be in the grocery business.”
Sharpe adds that the chain wants to focus more on its actual restaurants, rather than what were essentially kiosks in grocery stores.
“It’s best that everyone stay in what their skillsets are and move on.”
It seems like with all of the equipment and everything in place, the switch will happen rather quickly. Hy-Vee is said to have all Wahlburgers restaurants cleared out of their locations by February 4.
Of all of the side hustles country artists could partake in, opening a bar or restaurant is the most fitting — and very common. After all, many of these stars got their start on a barstool, tip jar nearby, playing their music for anyone who would listen.
These places feel like home for many of these singers. Over the years, several artists have gotten into the bar or restaurant game, and for a select few, brands have turned into franchises with several locations and/or concepts — we’re looking at you, Jimmy Buffett!
Let’s take a look at the country star food and entertainment venues that have opened over the years.
Gallery Credit: Jess
Who had the most played country song during the year you were born? This list is a fascinating time capsule of prevalent trends from every decade in American history. Scroll through to find your birth year and then click to listen. Some of these songs have been lost through the years, many of them for good reason!
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes