PORT ANGELES — Crews are stocking Super Saver Foods shelves with groceries and other products as the store in the former Hagen and Albertsons site prepares for its grand opening in about three weeks.
Kyle Saar, the company’s general manager and whose father owns the company, said the store is preparing to open May 2 and that for the first five days, starting at 8 a.m., the store will be giving away free items to the first 200 customers each day.
On May 5, the store will host a grand opening celebration, featuring vendors and sponsors who will offer free samples and prizes in the parking lot. The store will have prizes and will raffle off items such as a TV, grill and a fire pit.
Customers will be able to buy hot dogs and soda for 25 cents, he said.
“We want to provide a cool atmosphere for people to come down and check out the store,” Saar said.
In recent weeks the store has been hosting open interviews from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each Wednesday to fill upward of 60 available positions. About half of those positions have been filled, he said.
“We’re making good progress, but there’s definitely still positions available,” he said. “We’re in a position where we’re looking to to talk to more people so we can fill out the store and give some people opportunities.”
He said there will definitely be interviews today, but couldn’t guarantee the store would accept walk-ins next week.
Saar said May 2 is only a “projected” start day, but said he is confident the store will open on time.
“Every day we click closer to that May 2 date, it’s definitely becoming more and more of a certainty, but there’s always situations that can arise that can change this,” he said. “I’d say we feel very confident May 2 is a date we’ll be able to stick with.”
Once the store opens, it will be open 24/7, he said.
“Once we open those doors, they’ll never close,” he said. “It makes it that much easier for people to shop with us.”
The Oak Harbor-based company has been working on a rebranding effort as it revamps and modernizes its Saar’s Market Place stores and transforms them into Super Saver Foods.
Saar said the Port Angeles store at 114 E. Lauridsen Blvd., will be one of the best stores in the company’s portfolio.
“The look of our stores has changed,” he said. “I think people will be pleasantly surprised with what we’ll come out with as far as the size, selection and look of the store.”
The company previously owned Saar’s Market Place in Port Angeles, but that store closed in 2011, about a year after the Walmart Supercenter moved to the east side of Port Angeles.
The former store, a 25,000-square-foot store on the east side of Port Angeles, is about half the size of the new building, which is more than 47,000 square feet.
The new Port Angeles location will have a deli and a bakery and will have a big focus on ethnic foods, boasting large selections of Asian and Hispanic foods.
Saar said he is thankful to the Port Angeles community for its excitement and for the agencies the store has worked with for making it a smooth reopening and remodel.
“I want to thank the community in general because of their involvement — from the mayor to the citizen who stops by to say ‘hi’ — everything has been real positive and real great,” he said. “We’re excited to open up and happy to be a part of the community now.”
Saar said residents can follow the store’s progress and get updates on the planned grand opening by liking Saar’s Supersaver and Marketplace Foods on Facebook.
________
Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
John Otto of Bedford, Ore., stocks shelves at Super Saver Foods in Port Angeles on Monday. (Jesse Major/Peninsula Daily News)