The Dollar Fresh at 2181 S. Oakwood Ave. will become a full-service Hy-Vee by Thanksgiving, store director Crystal Jagers told The Geneseo Current — part of Hy-Vee's company-wide decision to retire the Dollar Fresh brand entirely. Construction is already underway, and the store will remain open throughout the renovation.

Hy-Vee CEO Jeremy Gosch announced the move last week at the Groceryshop convention in Las Vegas: all 16 remaining Dollar Fresh Markets will convert to the flagship Hy-Vee brand by 2027. Geneseo is the only Illinois store on the list.

Jagers said the Geneseo store will add a service meat case, fresh-cut fruit, and meat trays, along with roughly 5,000 new items. The company has said converted stores also get a full-service bakery, a health market, and prepared foods such as sandwiches, salads, and pizzas.

"We're excited to offer more variety," Jagers said.

Dollar Fresh launched in 2018 as Hy-Vee's answer to dollar stores in small rural towns, emphasizing fresh food where discounters were weakest. At its peak in 2024, the format had 25 stores. But the concept never fully caught on: Hy-Vee closed underperforming locations in Nebraska and Minnesota late last year and began test conversions of four stores in January.

"We're not afraid to try things. We'll get into things, and then we'll get out," Gosch said. "A 96-year-old brand has got way more staying power in any market than trying to have a startup with a different name."

The company says the Hy-Vee name itself drove the decision — customers responded to the flagship brand and its full-service departments even in smaller markets.

The Geneseo store, open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., has served as the town's budget grocery option. Its conversion leaves Geneseo with a full-service Hy-Vee alongside Fareway at 540 Pritchard Drive — two full-line grocers in a town of about 6,500.

Hy-Vee operates more than 540 locations across nine Midwestern states and employs over 70,000 people.