In Ames, I notice the Hy-Vee brand in several places. There are 2 grocery stores at opposite ends…read moreof the Lincoln Highway, and associated Liquor Stores and Gasoline Stations. There's also this Drug Store, which looks to be part of a yet-to-be realized development initiative at and around the old Train Station. Gayle was at a Salon at the Train Station getting her nails done. After all, my fabulous wife must mind the beauty details! However, with the Iowa humidity, she would probably go for shorter hair if we actually lived here. Since this takes time, I decided to walk down Main Street and look around. After walking around the Train Station and admiring the architecture (and the safety fence near the tracks), I first wandered into Hy-Vee Drugstore and for some air conditioned relief. This place is a lot larger than it looks from the outside. They have a nice selection of the usual stuff, plus gifts and wine/beer. I ended up buying a padded wine holder to later (and successfully) take back a bottle of Templeton Rye Whiskey back to Iowa. I'll probably be back the next time I'm in town for any travel-related supplies or to just kill a little time.

I get my prescriptions at Hy-Vee Drugtown. I like that the lines are shorter here. I am sensitive…read moreto medication changes and they will make sure I stay on the same generic which I appreciate. I can get every vitamin here and expert help from the pharmacists on which to choose. I mean, this is not life changing but I can avoid the lines at other places and receive decent service.

Jake is my parent's personal pharmacist. Or at least that's how it seemed recently when I…read moreaccompanied Mom to pick up their prescriptions. Somerset is only a short drive from my parent's house and when we walked in, Mom and Jake were chatting amiably on a first name basis. While they carried on, I picked out a nice water bottle for Gayle and enjoyed the welcoming space. And the meds, plus their daily exercise and nutritional choices must be working because at 76 and 81, my parents are in better shape than I am!

Ok well this isn't Somerset Pharmacy anymore but Nucara pharmacy. I will contact them and ask them…read moreto put themselves up on Yelp. Anyway this is the friendliest pharmacy I've been to in Ames. They are accurate, inexpensive and nice. I highly recommend them

Thank you! I can always count on the wonderful people at Krieger's. They are easy to talk to and…read moremake ordering flowers across country a breeze.

Nice, new store, built where most folks thought was gonna be Ames' OliveGarden(lol). I've shopped…read morehere a couple times since it opened a couple months ago. They have a large amount of grocery and household supplies, most of which is priced at $1.25 each. I was in here a couple days ago to purchase some household cleaners and some drink mixes. They have a very nice supply of both. So I went in and purchased at least one box of most of the drink mixes and I'm going through those to find out which ones I like the best. I've gotten 3in1 shampoo, conditioner, body soap in these stores before and have been satisfied by the products. For me, this store is closer to where I live. Plus I don't have to go walking a long distance just to get to the back of the store if there's something that I need there. Granted it's no Walmart but it's sufficient for people who don't have the resources to make it to your local Walmart. As I said before most the prices are $1.25 an item, but you will find some supplies and foods that are 3 to 5 dollars per item, so best to pay attention to what you're looking at and what the cost is going to be. I really like these stores, and I got onto TikTok DollarTreeDinners account, and despite me not cooking, I like seeing these videos, because if I do decide to cook, I know where I can get what I need to buy for a recipe, and the prices aren't exorbitant. Marcy diner tantrum scale five out of five no screaming kids. CyHawkApproved. They have friendly staff and lot parking.

Awesome super helpful service, and great discounts on the clearance racks. They have neat things…read morelike box kites and hats. Definitely worth checking out, I just wish they carried things more my style.

My last couple visits to BAM have been accented by a really friendly and engaging guy who has come…read morefrom behind the counter to help me find a particular book, magazine, or gift. And last week, he was wearing a cool Puerto Rico baseball jersey (Santurce Cangrejeros) with Roberto Clemente's number (21). BAM also has an extensive magazine collection that you just don't see anymore. It's right next to the coffee shop, which accentuates the book and periodical browsing experience.

I love that there's still a bookstore in town. There used to be that amazing bookstore over in the…read moreLincoln Center mall, and we had Borders, but now this Borders has closed and turned into a Books a Million. Everything is laid out about-ish the same that Borders used to have it laid out. There's music and movies in the same spot, the children's area in the same spot, the coffee and seating in the same spot, and of course, the bathrooms haven't moved. Shopping here is nice. They have a ton of clearance, but that seems to be standard for a lot of bookstores. Prices are pretty standard for books (higher than online), but they also are lower than prices I've seen at Barnes & Noble, so that's a positive. It was easy to locate the area that I was looking for. There are large signs on top of shelves that let you know what type of books are on there. They have a pretty large biblical/Christian section which I found surprising. It's larger than quite a lot of the other sections, and I think it actually might be getting close to the size of some of the fiction sections. Over in the Transportation section, I found what I was looking for pretty easily. They even had a good selection. However, the books were not in order like they should have been. Books about airplanes were strewn throughout and between books about motorcycles, trains, and cars. They were in the right section (Transportation), but definitely not organized how they should have been. So if you're looking for a specific book, make sure you look through the whole section. There were quite a few Clearance books, and I came out with 5 books instead of the original 1 I was looking for. Most of their clearance is very reasonably priced at about 50% to 75% off the original price. The books are in decent shape too. I had a really fun time looking through clearance. Check-out was nice and simple. They asked me to sign up for their membership program which I declined. They also offered me to sign up for their "3 free magazines" deal, but none of that was particularly pushed on me. They were really friendly about it and didn't push when I said no. Staff was extremely friendly and I was greeted on multiple occasions. Didn't try out the coffee area or look through the Children's area. Final thoughts: I'd definitely come back. The prices are higher than what I could get online, but there's something to be said for in-store book stores. I love being able to buy a book locally and help support the local economy as well. Plus, looking through Clearance is easily one of my favorite aspects of bookstores. I came out with 5 new books at least than $40; that's definitely amazing for book prices. I'm glad Ames still has a local bookstore.

6/13/26 We've been…read moreto this location a few times now, and each time has been pleasant. We're not pressured to buy anything or feel uncomfortable. It's nice to be able to walk around and look at things without being followed or pestered constantly. The store is brightly lit and very well organized, with a wide variety of merchandise. Each time we've gone in, we're greeted with a smile by whoever is working. The employees are also very knowledgeable, non-judgmental, and easy to talk to, which is a huge plus in this type of environment. There also tends to be some sort of sale going on each time, which is always a win lol. Plus, the prices are pretty reasonable compared to other similar stores/online. If you're looking for an "adult" store, this is definitely the place to go.

Well I'm impressed little Ames even has a sex store! For a small town it's not so bad. They are…read morelacking a tad bit in some of the sex toy aspects that you'd likely find in a city, but there are a lot of cool costumes and a VERY diverse pornography collection. I didn't expect to see any ethnic porn or interracial porn but there's a whole large section. And if you'd like a hookah pipe and a little hookah, they sell that as well! I just checked their website and everything they are lacking in the store the website makes up for. The people working there are nice, friendly, and professional. There's also a back area that I think people can pick out a video and watch in a private room for one. There are multiple rooms and multiple videos - for a price, mind you. If what goes on in there is what I think goes on in there, then I hope they wipe those rooms down with disinfectant wipes afterwards.

I had a great experience at the Pearle Vision in Ames. The optometrist got my prescription right,…read moreand Kristie helped me pick frames (regular glasses and sunglasses) that are a great fit for my face and what I was looking for functionally and aesthetically. She was very knowledgeable and professional and took the time to pull some options for me to try out. Her coworker was also very nice helping the other customers. I thought the prices seemed reasonable, the process was easy, good selection of frames, and the glasses arrived in a reasonable amount of time. I am happy with both the glasses and sunglasses. I highly recommend!

Went in to pick up glasses for my son and had to wait. Not a big deal but as a technician became…read moreavailable and knew we were waiting, but proceeded to walk to the back and make a phone call. We had to wait over 30 minutes just to pick up. The glasses are over priced comparing same frames and lenses at other places, but we had already ordered. We won't be going back.