Grocer Hy-Vee’s storefront lights glow at dusk in a January 2023 Gazette file photo. The grocer is set to open Tuesday after spending months renovating the 97,000-square-foot former Shopko store. The city separately announced it plans to add a four-way stop at the new supermarket’s Lexington Drive entrance, which is across the street from a main entry to grocery competitor Woodman’s.
Grocer Hy-Vee’s storefront lights glow at dusk in a January 2023 Gazette file photo. The grocer is set to open Tuesday after spending months renovating the 97,000-square-foot former Shopko store. The city separately announced it plans to add a four-way stop at the new supermarket’s Lexington Drive entrance, which is across the street from a main entry to grocery competitor Woodman’s.
JANESVILLE — Grocery chain Hy-Vee will throw open the doors next week on its multimillion-dollar revamp of a former Janesville Shopko store.
Hy-Vee’s Des Moines, Iowa parent company said in a release Tuesday that work at the new store along the busy Humes Road retail corridor on Janesville’s east side will wrap up in the next few days.
About the only thing left to do is officially open the 97,000-square-foot supermarket and pharmacy at 2500 Humes Road. That is set to happen at 6 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, Hy-Vee said in its announcement. Going forward, its regular hours will be 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
In addition to groceries, the new Hy-Vee will have a Wahlburgers burger restaurant-bar with an outdoor dining patio; standalone apparel and cosmetics sections; a liquor store; a food court; and an annex for online order pickup.
The new Janesville Wahlburgers will be one of 7 Wahlburgers in Wisconsin, including a standalone location in Brookfield and within other Hy-Vees in Ashwaubenon, Eau Claire, Fitchburg, Madison and La Crosse.
It will be the first time the former Shopko building has seen retail activity since the former discount retailer declared bankruptcy and went out of business in 2019.
New traffic controls
This week, before the store opens, the city of Janesville plans to install a new four-way stop along North Lexington Drive to handle increased traffic in and out of the Hy-Vee, which is located across the street from a main entry to grocery competitor and longtime Lexington Drive fixture Woodman’s Market, 2819 N. Lexington Drive.
In an announcement, the city said it’s set to install in coming days a set of four-way stop signs, that were identified as a need in a consultant’s analysis of anticipated traffic in and out of the two grocery stores.
Karissa Chapman, an engineer in the city’s planning department, said regular signpost stop signs will control traffic in and out of Hy-Vee and Woodman’s, while an overhead stop sign will control cross traffic.
The new 4-way stop is about 400 feet south of a stoplight-controlled four-way intersection at Lexington Drive and Humes Road, and adjacent to a covered city bus stop that’s also due for a makeover, the city said.
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