Downtown Des Moines Hy-Vee store cuts it hours. What are the new opening, closing times?

Hy-Vee is trimming the hours its downtown store by one-third, according to signs posted at the entrances.

The 420 Court Ave. store was previously open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Effective on Monday the store's hours became 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to the signs.

It's not the first reduction in the store's hours. When Hy-Vee opened the 36,000-square-foot location in 2017, its announced hours were 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Hy-Vee did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Like many other retailers, it has reduced operating hours in recent years. Shortly before the pandemic arrived in Iowa in 2020, it ended 24-hour operations at some of its larger stores, which now mostly close by 11 p.m.

The West Des Moines-based grocer is in the midst of updating the downtown store by adding temporary partitions to several areas, according to Hy-Vee spokesperson Tina Potthoff. Permanent partitions will eventually be added as the store's layout is updated, Potthoff said last week.

"Right now we are looking at an area for coffee, an area for sit-down meals, an area for grocery, and an area for wine and spirits," she said.

Before Hy-Vee opened the downtown store, the city of Des Moines had been seeking a grocery to serve its growing full-time downtown population. The city sold the land the store now occupies ― a parking lot valued at $3.57 million ― to Hy-Vee and developer Knapp Properties for $270,000 and awarded the remainder as an economic development grant. In exchange for construction of the grocery store, Des Moines also agreed to provide tax increment financing over 15 years.

The development agreement gave Des Moines the right to terminate those payments should Hy-Vee not provide a full-service grocery store.

In 2021, Hy-Vee announced plans to turn the store into a HealthMarket, converting the grocery aisles, alcohol sections and deli to offer vitamins, organic produce and other health-oriented foods. But those plans were later put on hold.

Philip Joens covers retail, real estate and RAGBRAI for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-284-8184, pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Hy-Vee reduces downtown Des Moines store's hours during renovations