Doors will slide open and guests will be greeted by a hostess to lead them to their table at west Ames Hy-Vee’s new Market Café. Hy-Vee is outfitting many of it’s grocery stores with a new bar and restaurant concept in the form of a Market Café or Market Grille.

The Market Café in the west Ames Hy-Vee is expected to open early to mid-March.

“Our CEO’s vision is to focus more on culinary expertise,” said Amanda Vande Lune, restaurant manager.

While the new Café will have a full wait staff and a made-to-order menu, customers can also go to the Italian Express or the Chinese Express as before and then eat in the new dining area, Vande Lune said.

The restaurant will have capacity for 120 or more. In the full-service bar, there will be eight beers on tap, bottled beer, wine and selected spirits. There will also be eight flat screens TVs and they will be able to have gameday events, said Ben Conway, store director.

Conway said there are about 30 new restaurants completed company-wide. The nearby Ankeny store will have both a Market Café and Market Grille at two separate locations.

Conway said the Market Grille will have outside seating without the full wait staff. The Market Café concept works for the Hy-Vee in west Ames because it is already working with an existing infrastructure.

Vande Lune said this will be a different option for people who not only reside on the west side of Ames but also Ames in general, as far as new restaurants.

“I’m excited for our customers,” Conway said,”I look forward to those first several weeks watching how customers engage it.”

Vande Lune is in the process of hiring people to either backfill the store or for the Café. Some employees have expressed interest in working at the Café.

Conway said they will have a soft opening to ramp themselves up to full force as this is a new experience for the Hy-Vee store.

The Market Café will be open Sunday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Café will be open from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m Fridays and Saturdays.