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November 10, 2025
WAUSAU – The supermarket chain Hy-Vee is set to make its North Central Wisconsin debut next week, Nov. 18 – taking up residence in the former Country Market Store and Circle K convenience store properties in the City of Wausau.
“It’s a new territory for us that we’re really excited to be in,” Ivy Sprague, director of strategic communications for the Iowa-based company, said.
Earlier in October, Hy-Vee Inc. announced its acquisition of the Country Market Store at 220 S. 18th Ave., as well as the neighboring Circle K, with plans to convert the grocery and convenience stores into a Hy-Vee and Hy-Vee Fresh & Fast location, respectively.
Operating in nine states across the Midwest, including Wisconsin, Sprague said Hy-Vee’s forthcoming Wausau location will be its 10th in the Badger State.
“We love being in Wisconsin, [and] we’re trying to grow our presence there,” she said.
The Wausau area and the Country Market location, Sprague said, made for a prime expansion opportunity for Hy-Vee.
“The community feel of Wausau was a great fit for what we think Hy-Vee can bring to the community,” she said. “[The] geography just made sense for us from a distribution perspective… and then the store location was also really attractive.”
Starting at 6 p.m., Nov. 11, Sprague said the buildings will close for minor upgrades and renovations, but will reopen ahead of the holiday season.
“We really want to make sure we’re ready to rock ‘n’ roll for the holidays so folks can get everything they need,” she said.
Founded “in a little town called Beaconsfield,” Iowa, in 1930, Sprague said a cornerstone of the company’s nearly century-old foundation is its active involvement in each community home to a Hy-Vee.
“It is so important to us to support the communities that support our stores,” she said. “The reason we want to come to Wausau is because it’s a great community, and we want to be sure we give back to that community that hopefully will welcome us.”
Renovations, project timelines
Between Nov. 11 and its grand opening a week later on the 18th, Sprague said the incoming Hy-Vee Wausau store will undergo a cosmetic rebrand.
“Phase one will just be a rebrand – refreshing some paint colors, signage, branding, [etc.],” she said. “Then, the second phase into the new year will be more of a physical remodel.”
In 2026, Sprague said Hy-Vee’s in-house construction team will work on building out and renovating specific departments within the store.
“We’ll put a lot [of work] into our bakery department… [to include] a lot of our fresh offerings made in store,” she said. “When you walk in those stores at 6 a.m. and the bakery is going, it’s fantastic.”
In addition to its made-in-store bakery items, Sprague said throughout 2026, Hy-Vee will also focus on increasing the Wausau location’s made-in-store meals and hot food selections available at its deli.
“I think we’re going to put some focus on refreshing that and bringing that up to what Hy-Vee’s been able to offer in other locations,” she said.
In terms of the product department, Sprague said Hy-Vee plans to expand the selection once offered at Country Market.
“I know Kory Robinson – our regional vice president – and his team are really excited about those fresh departments and expanding those offerings,” she said. “So, I think that’ll be the focus of those more extensive renovations that are coming in 2026.”
Not wanting to disrupt the Wausau community’s shopping, Sprague said the Hy-Vee construction team will work around customers during renovations.
“We don’t close,” she said. “We have an entire division of our company called Hy-Vee Construction, [and] this is all they do – renovate and build Hy-Vee stores – so they’re very good at minimizing disruptions while those things are going on.”
With more than 500 properties across nine states, Sprague said Hy-Vee Construction is a necessary asset of the company.
“It’s a full-time job for those folks – refreshing [and] maintaining [Hy-Vee locations, as well as] doing renovations like we’re going to do in Wausau,” she said.
The adjacent Circle K store, Sprague said, will undergo similar renovations on the same timeline as the supermarket – reopening as a Fast & Fresh location Nov. 18.
“We’ve had convenience stores in lots of our locations for probably the last 20 years or so, but the Fast & Fresh brand is one we just launched in 2018,” she said. “It used to be Hy-Vee Gas, which is explanatory, but not terribly compelling. So, we went with Fast & Fresh as a brand concept – sort of an elevated convenience store experience.”
In Hy-Vee’s Fast & Fresh locations, Sprague said customers can find the Market Grille Express – offering grab-and-go hot food, as well as heat-and-eat and take-and-bake meals.
“So, some version of that will be happening at the Circle K,” she said.
Food security, value
Though Hy-Vee doesn’t close for renovations, as previously mentioned, Sprague said the company has begun closing its stores on Thanksgiving.
“We have started closing on Thanksgiving Day to give our employees time to celebrate with their loved ones,” she said.
Sprague said Hy-Vee can also help alleviate its customers’ busy holiday schedules with its holiday meal packs.
“I don’t know if Hy-Vee is the only retailer that does them, but we do them really well,” she said. “You can grab an entire holiday meal for [anywhere between] two people [or] 20 people, take it home and heat it up.”
Handling everything from “cooking the turkey, making the stuffing [and] all of the sides” as well as dessert, Sprague said Hy-Vee’s holiday meal packs are made and assembled by its dedicated, in-store workforce.
“When we open as the Wausau Hy-Vee on the Nov. 18, folks can go to hyvee.com, choose their location, order those [meal packs] and then those are available for pickup either the night before Thanksgiving, or we will have a limited staff there on Thanksgiving morning to help folks pick up those meals,” she said. “We’ve been telling folks, it’s more flavor, less labor for your holidays.”
Sprague said it’s important for Hy-Vee to support its customers and communities, especially around the holidays.
“We’ve got some really good Thanksgiving meal deals that folks will be able to get at the [Wausau] store – [like] an entire meal for six people for $30 – because we know times are uncertain,” she said.
Amid uncertain times beyond the holiday season, Sprague said Hy-Vee is dedicated to providing communities with reliable, affordable grocery options.
Over the coming weeks, Sprague said each Hy-Vee location will offer $5 and $10 food bank donation bundles for customers to purchase – containing items such as canned vegetables, pasta sauce, canned proteins and cereal – which are then delivered daily by the store’s employees to a local food pantry.
Sprague said Hy-Vee will also be sharing recipes on its social media that families can make with products featured in the store’s weekly ads for $3 or less a serving.
“With the uncertainty around food assistance, we’re really trying to bring not only a great shopping experience when you walk in the store, but make sure folks get the value they need as they’re paying attention to their grocery budgets,” she said.
Encouraging philanthropy
As renovations commence, Sprague said Hy-Vee and the Wausau community are equally excited about the company’s newest and first location in the North Central Wisconsin region.
“[It] sounds like they’re excited we’re coming, so that’s a great thing,” she said.
Per the company’s press release announcing its acquisition in Wausau, each of the 130 full-time Country Market employees will be offered positions with Hy-Vee ahead of the store’s reopening.
“Those folks have relationships with the customers, with the community [and] they’re the trusted providers of food in that area,” she said. “So, we want to maintain those relationships and grow them if we can.”
When the Country Market acquisition was finalized, Sprague said she personally spoke with the store’s employees about Hy-Vee’s dedication to community give back.
“I mentioned to those folks, ‘If there are organizations that you know, love and support, let your store director know… and let us learn about them to figure out if it’s a good fit for Hy-Vee,’” she said.
Its near-century of community-based philanthropic work, Sprague said, demonstrates Hy-Vee’s dedication – not only to its customers but to the communities each of its locations call home.
“Our very first community donation was in 1940 to a Boy Scout troop in Lamoni, Iowa,” she said. “Supporting our communities is part of who we are and what we do.”
To learn more and for updates on the forthcoming Wausau Hy-Vee location, visit the store’s Facebook page.
