
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Jim McVeigh’s role in the grocery store he has operated for more than 25 years hearkens back to the days when neighborhood grocers knew their customers by name.
Many of those customers stopped by to wish McVeigh a happy retirement on the final day of Save-A-Lot, 1625 J St. SW, on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024, and pick through what was left on the emptying shelves.
“I’m going to miss coming here,” said Jill Hemann, who made a mid-afternoon stop on the last day. “I live on the northwest side, but we come here all the time.”
More: End of an era as grocery store closes
One of the largest discount grocers in the United States, the Cedar Rapids store was the last of the Save-A-Lot groceries in Iowa.

Cans of pumpkin are among the last few items at Save-A-Lot on its closing day in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Hemann, who manages Green Square Meals in Cedar Rapids, carted off stacks of packages of plates that McVeigh donated to the meals program, not the first donation he has made to their cause or others in the area.
Central Furniture Rescue; the Catherine McAuley Center; Salvation Army; the DropInn Resale Store next door and a number of food pantries have been beneficiaries of donations or greatly reduced pricing on food and more, said Robin McVeigh, Jim McVeigh’s wife, who took time off from her job as a paralegal to join her husband on the store’s final day.
The two plan to attend their son’s baseball games in his senior year of college and help out with their daughter’s wedding in the coming year, she said.

The Dlask Bros. Grocery & Market, circa 1915, sat at the corner of J Street and 16th Avenue SW, not far from where the current Save-A-Lot store is located. Shown are John and Anna Dlask and Jack Rasplicka. (photo/courtesy Jim McVeigh)
Formerly a Me Too store and SunMart, the Save-A-Lot opened at its J Street location in 1997, serving a Czech immigrant neighborhood that was accustomed to a grocery store on the block between 16th and 17th Avenue SW for more than a century.
In the early 1900s, The Dlask Bros. Grocery & Market served the neighborhood at the corner of J Street and 16th Avenue SW, where the current sign for Save-A-Lot is located.
A family member who lived in a three-story former rooming and boarding house at 218 17th Ave. SW, which was converted to a residential home, said their house was demolished to make way for the Me Too store that opened in the 1960s.

Jim McVeigh is shown with employees Lily Matheny, left, and Sumekqua Waters on Dec. 18, 2024, the closing day of the Save-A-Lot in Cedar Rapids. The store had 18 employees. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
McVeigh tried to tried to sell the store outright for more than a year, with no takers.
Instead, he will lease the building to a “dollar store,” McVeigh said on the closing day of Save-A-Lot.
While not specifically naming the national retailer, he noted the store will offer an expanded grocery selection.
After a Jan. 15, 2025, auction of shelving, freezers and other items by Backes Auctioneers, the new retailer will begin renovations in March, with a June 1 opening day, McVeigh said.
And while he is officially retiring, he said, “there’s no relaxing” as he takes on the role of landlord.
This is the second working class neighborhood to lose a grocery store in Cedar Rapids this year. Nothing has yet replaced the Hy-Vee store, 1556 First Ave. NE, which closed in June.
Related: Demonstrators call for Hy-Vee boycott
See more photos of the final day:












Have enjoyed that store and am very glad Jim is able to “retire”. I doubt if his retirement will mean just laying around doing nothing. I guess the best way to describe my retirement is that I no longer get paid to work but never seem to be done working. He probably already has 100 or more ideas of things to spend his time on………Best Wishes to Jim & Robin in your next “adventure”.
that’s true
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Jim was a kind of manager who cared about satisfying all customers who had visited his store. I wish him all the best for his next journey.
✨ Congratulations &
Best Wishes McVeighs ✨
Sorry to see you are closing.
I was there when you opened in Toledo.
Jim you are already being missed by alot customers and friends please don’t forget about all of us as we think about what you and Robin are doing and please have alot of fun.
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