Why review a grocery store? Good question. But a review can help Yelpers find the hidden gem of a…read morebusiness in a new city of any size. So here goes! Fareway Stores are a mid-sized grocery. Not the choices of a Kroger, Hy Vee, Walmart or Target Super Store, but they have a selection to meet most needs. What sets this chain apart then? A number of things. First, Fareway is known for their meat department. They staff the department with a number of butchers (never one or two. Think 4-5!). When I walk up to the butcher case I am often asked about what I'd like before I have had time to decide. They gladly cut what you want from a larger piece, e.g. "I'd like a 4 lb. prime rib roast." You'll get it. Along with the standards of pork, beef and chicken, there is a fine selection of ready to cook meat dishes (stuffed chicken breast, shiskabobs, etc) and a number of deli items. You won't find that case stocked with prepackaged ground beef, pork items, etc. This is an entire department that rivals the small premium meat counter at a large store. Secondly, Fareway is s student-friendly employer. They hire many young people and are accommodating to the high school student's active schedule. Great community orientation. This leads to a third quality. The many employees do more than stock shelves and check out customers. This store still provides carry out service for nearly every customer. If you have a small bag, you are probably fine carrying your own. But for that cart of groceries--carry out assistance every time. And no carts are left in the parking lot. That young person rolls it back into the store. And while it would be nice for the carry out employees, no tipping. If you find a Fareway Store in your community, give them a try if you haven't already.

Tammy Lee from Piggly Wiggly in Galena IL is one of the most giving merchants I know. She rises to…read morethe Occasion when she is approached to help. In addition to running a great grocery store, providing our community with our needs. I give her five stars and a hip hip hooray.. a very loyal customer that will continue

The prices here aren't the best because it's a little bit pricey but they have cute Piggly Wiggly…read moreproducts like T-shirts and cups and bags and coasters and they also have some good deals sometimes such as cheese and ice cream from Wisconsin. They also donate to the Hungry so I was thankful for that.

Relatively new store in the HyVee brand. Large selection, many specials which are often marked with…read moreprices recently compared to other local grocery stores. The specials in the HyVee ads are honored here as well as the gas discounts that come with purchases. Personally I find the HyVee house brand frozen vegetables to be very good. Very friendly staff.

I can't give more than one star to anyplace that forces you to listen to ads in order to buy gasread more

This is a pretty standard Fareway. It's not nearly as big as the one in Independence, but I…read morecertainly don't always feel like driving 20 minutes to go to Indee. It's very clean, and it's a very well-taken-care-of store. They even do a great job of getting in some of the newer types of food products. The shelves are usually stocked, and while they don't have the variety a big-box store does, this is one of the few places in town to get a good selection of groceries. Okay, it's pretty much the only place in town, and it puts the grocery selection of K-mart or Shopko to shame. I haven't had any particular issue with things being regularly out-of-stock, and they seem to do a decent job of keeping the shelves stocked. Cashiers have always been nice, and they do a good job of customer management here. They'll call up more cashiers when the lines get long, and I've never waited more than a couple minutes to check-out. Very satisfactory in terms of most stores in Oelwein (and most stores, period. Very good line management) I still don't understand the aisle organization in the store, though. There's water on the far side with some groceries then there are some aisles of cleaning supplies, then we have aisles of cookies, and then refrigerated and then frozen. The aisle organization makes no sense, and despite shopping here regularly for over a year, I still have to look through nearly every aisle when I want to find something. Parking lot is nice. I've never had any issues parking or getting out of the parking lot. Unlike some of the other lots in town, this one isn't in disrepair or going to pop a tire from their potholes. This Fareway does NOT have a fresh bakery, but they do have some bakery items. They do have a full-service meat counter as well as some types of health foods (though not a lot) like almond milk or soy milk. There is no bicycle parking, but in hilarious Oelwein fashion, there is horse parking. Prices are pretty good. Not great, but not insanely high either. If you buy the items that are on the weekly sale (especially the front page of their ad), you can get stuff for cheaper than you could find in Waterloo or Cedar Falls. The fact that Fareway employees go out with the carts to load up your car drives me absolutely insane, though. I mean, insane. I'm sure some people really like it, though, but I'd rather just deal with it all myself. Final thoughts: I'm glad this is in Oelwein or I'd have nowhere decent to get groceries. It's a surprisingly great store for this area, and they've done a good job of taking care of the property and the stock. It's obvious that whoever runs this Fareway cares about presenting a decent appearance and isn't just relying on the "this is the only place people can go" factor. I enjoy shopping here (aside from the aisle organization).

they offer a wide variety of deli products and have great customer serviceread more

All of my experiences with Gary's Foods have been good ones. This store is an anchor in our small…read moretown, open every day with well-stocked shelves, fresh produce, and great meat department. The deli area has everything I need for supper or even a picnic. I count on them every day and holiday for fresh fried chicken and sliced meats. Gary's bakery provides fresh rolls and donuts every day, too. You can see why Gary's is my go-to.

Every time I visit MV I have to stop at Gary's for some suds. This place is legendary. On a recent…read morevisit I was shocked when I noticed the worst brew on the planet. I almost puked immediately. Gary, time to $hit can this stock and never re-order. C'mon man.

A nice hidden jewel! I had a taste for middle eastern food and came across this place. A grocery…read morestore with a food counter and a simple menu. I ordered a spicy jumbo chicken Shawarma with a mint yogurt drink. The shawarma was amazing and the mint yogurt brought back memories. The service was great and I wish I would've gotten more stuff. Overall great experience and I will be back!!!

This is a nice specialty grocer that CR is lucky to have. Lots of new foods to try and learn about…read moreif one is not familiar with certain Mediterranean foods. One can always google items but it might be kinda cool to have sections of the store shelves translate items to English - only for the ease of browsing quickly to try new things. The layout of the store was ok with baklava and fresh eats off to the same side & meats, cheeses and olives in the back. I specifically wanted to try the Dubai chocolate and I am craving to eat more! It's something I am going to seek out again soon when I get a chance. It was stored in the order fresh food display case. I got there about 1pm on a Saturday and three were left and I took one bar. While I was there someone grabbed the last two so they go quickly! The ratio of filling to chocolate is perfect. I also tried some baklava and Basbousa and I've decided it's not my go to but prefer it warmed up in the air fryer when I'm eating it. The fresh bakery items when you first walk in were tempting so I tried the meat and cheese filled triangle bread (not sure exact name) and they were tasty. The olive assortment was amazing in the back. I ended up with the mixed spicy olives and we both enjoyed snacking on them over the weekend. I ordered mix grilled platter to go (Shish kebab, Shish Tawook, with special rice, babaganouj, pickles, onions, garlic, or tahini sauce) I really liked the chicken and found the beef pretty bland. I would try the chicken wrap next time. The fresh pita to take home will be on my list next time.

I really do get around. Found myself in Elkader. Very difficult to get around in the town due to…read morethe main entrance is closed off due to the bridge is out. Wilke's is what appears to be a family owned store. Walking around I found a few items I could use. The staff was very friendly and if you don't have to shop here then don't because it is very high priced. I found prices to be anywhere from 1.50 to 2.00 dollars higher than even Fareway.

From the owner: Specialties Broasted Chicken, Dairy, Local Grocery Store,…read moreMeats, Organic Products, Produce, Propane, Specialty Foods Services Beer and Wine Selection, Discounts Available, Frozen, Groceries, Rewards Program Locations Notes Historic Downtown Elkader

1st time here. Great family owned store. Has everything you need. Friendly people here. I support…read morelocally owned businesses!

Best little small town grocery store in the area. Kind and friendly staff. Enjoy milk out of the…read moreglass bottle or a fresh sandwich from their meat counter.

Photo contest of cutest pet from the local community of patrons inside the Walmart at the entrance…read more Walmart has the best prices and when you have sales there even better prices. The supercenter has everything you need and it's essential in a small town where you get good deals for everything and gearing up for summer is all over the store.

This is just a review for the pharmacy and the so called "empathetic pharmacist". A pharmacist here…read moretold me that my PTSD was not real. She also raised her voice about my medication to the point where other people on the chairs in line were staring at me. That's a HIPPA violation by the way and has been reported as such. Also, the woman made a joke of "you don't look like a soldier" when I brought up my PTSD. I have been in contact with Walmart corporate and they are appalled by the situation and sending people to this Walmart to evaluate the situation and/or fire them. I have never been so humiliated in my life and I'm glad corporate is taking it as seriously as they are. I highly recommend going to any other pharmacy in galena. Also, the pharmacist trying to tell me my doctor (who is triple board certified by the way) was wrong and she "knew better" about my medications is highly illegal and I find it very suspicious that Walmart hired pharmacists who so clearly do not follow the law. Pharmacists can lose their license for HIPPA violations like this but it's entirely on them. Shouldn't have gone into the field if you don't follow the law.

Coggon Market and Catering is a small grocery store with an exceptional meat department. It is…read morevery small and run by a husband and wife team who are very friendly and helpful. Their meat department is first rate (I drive 45 minutes one way to buy their meat) and their catering department is excellent. I highly recommend Coggon Market and Catering to everyone who asks me about grocery stores. :)