Hy-Vee has opened its first Twin Cities grocery stores in Oakdale and New Hope with longtime partner Horizon providing bakery products.
The 91,000-square-foot, $26 million Oakdale store features a sit-down Hy-Vee Market Grille restaurant with a full bar, a Starbucks, a cheese shop and a charcuterie. A walk-in clinic also helps customers with their healthcare needs. The New Hope store is similar in size, scope and offerings.
Horizon Equipment Specialist Tom Hartmon has worked with the West Des Moines company for decades, helping develop, install and service bakery products . This includes equipment like baking ovens, proofers, and racks, which Hartmon also helps service. He has a technical background as an experienced Horizon Service Technician—a rare combination of product consulting and technical skills customers find appealing.
If something goes wrong with the equipment, I try to help out where I can, says Hartmon. Sometimes it's just a loose belt or a tensioner that needs adjusting, so I grab my tools and go. For more serious issues, I call in our service team.
Often Hartmon will stop on the way home form work to lend a quick hand to a customer in need, an added value customers have come to appreciate over the years—especially on mission-critical equipment. If it gets them through the shift, and production stays running, they really appreciate it, Hartmon says.