Wow I was just in the Ames store it was so congested that I could hardly get what I wanted. The…read moreisles had many boxes blocking in and the cart would hardly fit through it. This was not the first time I was in there and it was this way. I stopped in once around 10 am and it was closed. There were 4 girls standing outside smoking cigarettes and they said it was closed for inventory. That was the first time I ever heard a store close for inventory

Unlike most of the "dollar' stores out there, Dollar Tree's claim to fame is that everything in…read morethere is a dollar. Like, literally everything. Once in awhile, you'll catch something for 4 for $1 or something (such as the Christmas candy canes they have on clearance right now), but everything in their store is $1. It makes it honestly pretty easy to shop since I'm never wondering about the price tag. This is a nice-looking Dollar Tree that has quite a bit of room on the inside. You can find name-brand items like Pop-Tarts and whatnot, but in some cases, their packaging/box size has been reduced to make it cost-effective to sell for a dollar. This store has stationary, automobile, hardware, some clothes, dishes, beauty supplies, cleaning supplies, lots of food including frozen food, party supplies, kids toys, books, kitchen gadgets, pregnancy tests, and more. I would very, very highly recommend Dollar Tree as the place to get party supplies. They have a plethora of color options and it's all very cheap. They have tablecloths, plastic silverware, plates, noisemakers, and lots of other stuff. It's seriously a fantastic way to do a "decorated" party on the cheap. I came here looking for pins for sewing, but they don't have any. In the past, I've come here for some of their kitchen supplies. Getting a strainer and measuring cups for a dollar is a fantastically good price. When I've come, it's usually clean-ish. It's not immaculate, but it's clean. Shelves are usually pretty organized, and it's not like stuff is strewn all over the place. Usually most things are in-stock and ready to be purchased. I like the parking lot. It's large and makes it easy to get around without fussing with horrible hills or bad traffic like the other dollar store in town. As a note, I don't think they have a bathroom here. For cyclists, they do not have a bicycle rack, but they have long, metal poles that support the outside of the building that you can lock your bike to. I've locked them there in the past without any issue. Final thoughts: It's a good place to pick up random items for $1. You have to make sure what you're buying is worth a dollar as, in some cases, it seems like you might be able to get some of these items cheaper elsewhere. As a whole, though, you definitely save money by shopping at Dollar Tree for lots of household supplies instead of going to another big box store. They don't have enough grocery selection to do all of your grocery shopping here, but they do have a lot of various household items. I would especially recommend this place to anyone moving into a new home who needs household supplies.

Hokel Machine Supply has anchored that location next to the tracks for as long as I can remember…read more One of those places a person can get lost in looking at stuff. Great old fashioned machine shop

Seems they almost always have or can get what I need with friendly, helpful staff and competitive…read moreprices.

Wow!! 6/10/26 I stopped by the Cafe and ordered a breakfast burrito and noticed the cook not using…read moregloves as he spread shredded cheese on my burrito. I am not one to make a huge scene. But management needs to review the cameras and make necessary changes. And a refund on my card I used would be great! I did not consume the burrito! And I could not stay to address cause I am on a schedule. But I won't be back to eat at this establishment.

It's a fine Hy Vee. The Wine and Spirits clerks are particularly fun employees to chop it up with…read more Any time I need help, the folks there are always on the ball. One time some random asshole college student came up to me and tried to recruit me to join his Amway team, but that's mostly just a funny anecdote and has nothing to do with the store. I hope his pyramid scheme fails and he gets punched at an Insane Clown Posse concert.

Their produce is always fresh and prices are great. The store is very clean. Some of the Aldi foods…read moreare really good. Tikka Masiala sauce for example. The prepared foods right inside the door are good. I especially like the Carnitas. Cashier is usually available because everyone is doing checkout. They are generally friendly and always fast.

I have never been treated as rudely as I was by the cashier at this store. Low prices must come…read morewith disrespectful employees? I'm not going back and won't hesitate to share with my friends what happened. Buyer beware.

Great store and staff. Very organized and clean. Good selections of items and gas.read more

A really nice little hardware store. I stop here for everything but the most obscure of fix-it…read moreitems. They've got just about everything you might need from paint to tools to carpet cleaners. It does lean a little on the pricey side, and is probably not a great place for extensive home improvement projects but it is always the place we go to first for any of our repair needs. It's one of the many convenient and friendly businesses that make Story City a full-service community.

They are always very helpful and have a great deal of knowledge about their products. A nice…read moresolution in the story city area for home projects.

This place is smaller than some that I've been to but they had EVERYTHING you could want! They had…read moregreen tea Kit Kats which are hard to find. I was so exited for find kimchi, endless types of dumplings and ramen, plus everything I needed to make pho from scratch! So excited I found this place and get creative with dinners.

I honestly do not make too many foreign types of food, but a friend and I were looking for a rare…read moretype of decaffeinated black tea, and we were hoping that we'd find some at some of the Asian stores in town. Sadly to say, we didn't what we were looking for. It was interesting to look through a bunch of new types of Asian cuisine that I hadn't known about though. This, and Uni-Mart, seem to have some of the best Asian item selections in Ames. It's not a huge store, though. There are about 4 aisles of items including tons of bulk-bag rice, tea, chocolate treats, soybeans, types of grains, and more. Lots of soy sauce varieties, too. There are also freezers with frozen food. Most of the food doesn't have English written on the packaging, but some of the packaging does have English to give you a general idea of what the item is. The interior isn't particularly modern, but it is clean. Some interior decorating would probably go a long way, but it's very functional. Some items didn't have prices marked on them, so if I was looking to purchase those items, I'd probably be pretty frustrated. Judging by the price tags, it looks like they may offer a discount if you pay with cash instead of credit cards. Some of the odder items I found included duck eggs, neat Cheetos packaging, and lots of varieties of rice that I've never seen before. It's definitely neat. They didn't have the tea that we wanted. In fact, I was a little disappointed by the tea selection; there are definitely much, much larger tea selections at all of the local grocery stores. I ended up purchasing some treats. The cashier wasn't particularly friendly, but she was very proficient and wasn't rude at all. Final thoughts: Definitely a neat store, and I'm glad that Ames has some Asian food stores to get some of the harder-to-find items in-town. It isn't the most modern-looking store, and it doesn't have a huge selection, but if you have a favorite foreign food brand and can't find it in the regular grocery stores, you might be able to find it here.

So very helpful to this old lady. Lost a bolt on my walker. Pulled into the parking lot and called…read morefrom my car about my problem. They came out to the car and fixed it.

One normal key at this ACE Hardware cost 6.99. Shocking! I have gone to many Ace Hardware's…read morearound the state of Iowa and they were half the price. Shame on the employee for not telling me before he cut the key. I wanted to support our local store but why should I care about them when they just rip us off.