I live closer to HyVee than other stores so convenience plays a part in why I shop there. They are definitely not the cheapest grocery store but even so, there are many things I like.
Their employees are incredibly kind and helpful. Sometimes I hate asking where to find something because (apparently) employees are mandated to walk you to the product. When it’s busy I feel bad taking them away from their duties when I’d be fine being told which aisle to go to.
HyVee has a decent selection of foods for special diets such as gluten-free, keto, vegan etc.
Their bakery is great. Again, not cheap but their baked goods and cake decorators are top-notch. When my daughter signed up to bring macarons to her French class of 20 students, I had to take out a home equity loan.
This is probably separate from the grocery store, but the pharmacy is awesome. After 35 years at a pharmacy across the street, I finally gave up due to chronic understaffing and frequent mistakes. It’s been a delight not having to battle a pharmacy employee over every refill.
One negative IMO is produce. It looks great but often seems to have too short of a shelf-life. I’ve been told (only hearsay) that the MacArthur HyVee happens to be the final destination for produce delivery, meaning their produce spends longer in transit, sitting on trucks. Maybe this isn’t true but it seems plausible to me. Otherwise, I can’t guess why it doesn’t hold up as expected.
I don’t buy meat or use the deli often so can’t be very specific about these. Their carryout food service used to come in handy when I was busier. I’ve enjoyed more than a few Chinese dinners, pizza slices and chicken fingers over the years.
I have used curbside pickup several times and for the most part, it’s been good. I think every store’s curbside pickup is prone to hiccups and errors because it’s hard to choose products for someone else. I specify substitutions when it matters but even then, you don’t always get what you would’ve picked for yourself. That’s simply the downside of shopping services but I appreciate the availability very much.
I’ve never eaten at the attached restaurant. I looked at the menu and thought it was massively overpriced, plus the reviews were pretty mediocre.
Lastly, when I don’t use self-check out I find their cashiers to be speedy and efficient. Even when it’s busy, the process moves more smoothly than at Walmart etc. I do wish they hadn’t stopped using the self-checkout conveyor belts at the north end of the store; they’re so much easier to use than the cramped kiosk stations. Maybe they were hard to guard against theft?