Coborn’s Inc. has announced the grand re-opening of the Willmar Cash Wise Foods located at 1300 5th St. SE in Willmar, Minnesota. The store first opened to serve the Willmar community in 1979 and was the first of the 19 Cash Wise stores in Minnesota and the Dakotas.
The company recently completed significant updates in the grocery and liquor stores and has several other Cash Wise locations currently undergoing similar remodels. A grand re-opening event is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Feb. 9.
“To meet the evolving needs of our guests, we are proud to invest in our original Cash Wise store and in the Willmar community, with an expanded bakery, deli, produce and meat and seafood departments along with an updated store design and new offerings to create a remarkable shopping experience for customers,” said Dave Meyer, the company’s president and COO. “The Willmar Cash Wise has been in this community since 1979, and we are excited to continue to bring remarkably fresh offerings and incredibly friendly service to our guests here.”
The location features an expanded in-store floral department, a designated area for curbside or pick-up online orders, an onsite pharmacy and fuel station. The remodel also includes the addition of an in-store meat smoker which enables this location to produce signature smoked meats in-house. A relocated Bake Shoppe will continue to produce tortillas, made fresh in-store daily. New refrigeration and freezers, along with updated LED lighting will allow the location to operate with greater energy efficiency.
With this store completed, the company has built or updated more than two dozen of its Cash Wise locations to its “next-generation” format. The company has built or remodeled several other locations in Minnesota and North Dakota.
Some notable features of the Willmar Cash Wise include:
- The Kitchen: This centerpiece area will serve made-to-order entrees that are packaged in-store for easy, convenient pick-up and quick at-home preparation. Sandwiches and other grab-and-go breakfast, lunch and dinner options are just a few of the items guests will find in the kitchen, in addition to Kabar Sushi.
- Online shopping: Guests can place their order online by visiting cashwise.com or by shopping on any mobile or desktop device and have their order waiting for them for pickup at a designated time slot they’ve chosen at the store. Both curbside pick-up service and home delivery will be available via the company’s third-party delivery partner, DoorDash.
- New offerings in meat and seafood: Several new items have been introduced, including a variety of smoked meats, Greater Omaha 1881 Certified Hereford Beef products, an expanded seafood selection and more. An in-store smoker has been added to the location to allow the store to offer freshly smoked chicken, beef and pork items direct from the smoker to the counter.
- Full-service pharmacy: An in-store pharmacy with drive-through service is located at the store front for patient convenience. Inside, a private consultation room is also designated for pharmacists to meet one-on-one with patients to discuss their pharmacy and health needs. The Cash Wise Pharmacy was voted by Willmar residents as the Best Pharmacy in the annual West Central Tribune’s “Best Of” contest for 2021.
Cash Wise is led by Store Director David Ham. He has been with the company for 15 years, serving in the store director role at this location for more than two years.
“I’d like to thank the Willmar community for their patience while our store has been under construction,” Ham said. “The remodel process was met with unplanned delays, but our guests’ demonstrated patience and flexibility knowing that in the end, the promise of a refreshed space would await them.”
St. Cloud, Minnesota-based Coborn’s Inc. is a 101-year-old employee-owned grocery retailer with nearly 10,000 employees and 66 grocery stores across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Michigan under the Coborn’s, Cash Wise Foods, Marketplace Foods, Hornbacher’s and Tadych’s Marketplace Foods banners. Coborn’s, Inc. also operates fuel, liquor and pharmacy locations. To support its 200 various retail business units, Coborn’s, Inc. operates its own central bakery, dry cleaning facility and grocery distribution center. In 2021, Coborn’s, Inc. was named The Shelby Report’s Midwest Retailer of the Year.
For more information, visit coborns.com.
