February 16, 2022 4:10 a.m.

In the KQEN Business Spotlight:

Grocery Outlet’s new location in the Garden Valley Shopping Center is now open.

Co-owner Steve Burton told News Radio 1240 KQEN that Tuesday’s “soft opening” went great. Burton said “Community response was so positive and appreciative. People are loving the new look and all the facilities improvements”.

Burton said with nearly 3,000 more square feet of shopping space than the Harvard location, that means the meat section, deli and produce areas are larger.

The staff has grown to 39 people. Burton said more will be added as the business grows. He said if that growth stays with his plan, the store will likely employ 45 people ultimately.

Burton acknowledged a few first day hiccups. He said he came in at 4:00 a.m. to construct the cart storage corral in front of the building. Burton said the paging system didn’t work on one register while the belt on another needed a couple of plugs switched so that it would operate correctly.

Burton said he is very proud of what his team has accomplished. He said, “All the stress of getting it done literally melted away when we were able to open the doors and invite the community to shop with us”. Burton said he is appreciative of customer’s patience during the transition.

Grocery Outlet’s official grand opening is Thursday.