Hy-Vee Market Grille gets self-service reboot as 'Market Grille Express'

Goodbye Market Grille, hello Market Grille Express.

Hy-Vee is converting one of its local in-store, full-service Market Grille restaurants into a dining concept that doesn't include wait staff.

The grocery store chain said it is transitioning the Market Grille at its Empire Hy-Vee location at 4101 S. Louise Ave. to a self-serve dining concept the company calls Market Grille Express. The company said the changes will happen "over the upcoming weeks."

"At the Hy-Vee Market Grille Express, customers will be able to quickly order food, pay at a nearby pay station, then sit and enjoy their meal in a casual self-service, contemporary atmosphere," the company said in a news release.

Workers will still be delivering food to the table and perform cleanup work, Hy-Vee director of communications Amy McCoy said. She said that there will be no job cuts as part of the transition. The restaurant's bar will remain open and staffed.

"The Hy-Vee Market Grille Express concept also allows customers to have a more convenient and quick eating experience if they are 'on the go,' " Hy-Vee said.

The only location in Sioux falls making the change is the Empire Hy-Vee, said company spokeswoman Tina Potthoff.

Hy-Vee first opened Market Grilles in some of its Sioux Falls stores in 2015 and added additional locations the next year.

Hy-Vee also said it would soon make an announcement about the opening of its first Wahlburgers restaurant. The company plans to build, own and operate 26 Wahlburgers, it announced in July.

Sioux Falls is on the company's map of the company's planned Wahlburgers locations.