Idea brews to new town: Albert Lea gas station reopens with Austin’s Caribou model
Published 9:32 am Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Caribou Coffee barista Hattie Phillips shares a laugh Tuesday with customer Emma Reichl, 15, of Wisconsin.
Tim Engstrom/newsroom@austindailyherald.com
ALBERT LEA — Hy-Vee Gas reopened in Albert Lea Tuesday in a new building with enough room for a Caribou Coffee — not merely a coffee stand, but an entire store.
The stand inside the main Hy-Vee grocery store will remain, said store manager Al Weisert, as it is a draw for customers. He said having the store is a good complement to the convenience store.
“Caribou Coffee, being a Minnesota company, is a huge draw for people in the area,” he said.
Albert Lea followed Austin’s footsteps with its new Hy-Vee convenience store.
Austin’s Hy-Vee Gas became the first in the country during its mid-2011 remodel to attach a Caribou Coffee shop.
Austin Hy-Vee manager Todd Hepler submitted that proposal to Caribou for Austin’s store. He said Caribou officials were pleased to give the idea a go in the state where the coffee shop began.
“I’d seen for years that they put the kiosk inside the store, and we’re right off of (Interstate) 90,” Hepler Told the Herald in 2011. “(Customers) look for Caribou. I thought, ‘What a better way to do it?’”
Hy-Vee Gas is in the same building as Caribou Coffee at 2717 Bridge Ave. in Albert Lea.
The full Albert Lea store offers more than coffee drinks. It has breakfast and lunch food, too, and a greater variety of drink orders. There is free wireless Internet, a fireplace and lounge seating.
Customer Emma Reichl, 15, of Wisconsin said she was excited to find a Caribou Coffee in Albert Lea. She noticed it was open while driving past Tuesday. She was in Albert Lea to visit her grandmother.
“There’s not many good places to get coffee,” she said.
The new Hy-Vee Gas and Caribou Coffee occupy a 4,500-square-foot building. And for the first time, the Albert Lea Hy-Vee Gas has diesel pumps.
The old station had four pumps with eight dispensers, and the new one has eight pumps with 16 dispensers.
The former gas station will be torn down starting Thursday to make room for a drive-thru, access to a car wash, a second entrance from Bridge Avenue, additional parking, an air station and space for the city’s plans to align Plaza Street. Weisert estimated a grand opening will take place in late July. A soft second opening takes place next Wednesday.
The new Hy-Vee Gas and Caribou Coffee created an additional 16 jobs, Weisert said. The two places employ about 25 people.
