The new Smart & Final located on Lodi Avenue. The store opened its doors on Friday morning. (Whitney Ramirez/News-Sentinel)

Smart and Final store has quiet opening on East Lodi Avenue

Barbara Hendrickson, a Lodi resident, was one a number of customers who stopped to see if what they had heard was true: Smart and Final is finally open.

"How long has the store been open?," she asked Tuesday.

The store, located on East Lodi Avenue, opened Friday morning. Smart and Final sells bulk groceries much like a Costco or Sam's Club, but without the membership requirement.

The more than 400 customers who enter the store each day are mostly just checking it out, said Manager Dawn Haywood.

Hendrickson said she and her neighbors have been scoping out the store for weeks from the A&W across the street, but none were sure whether it had been completed.

"We kept asking each other, 'Do you think it's open?'" Hendrickson said. "Finally, yesterday one of my neighbors said it was open so I stopped by to see for myself."

Other customers said they were pleased to see how much they saved and surprised it was finally open. Most said they had decided to go into the store after neighbors had asked them whether they knew it was open.

The store's soft opening is a way for new employees to get a feel for the store and learn the cash registers before the grand opening sale on President's Day weekend, Haywood said.

The 24,000-square-foot building has been home to a number of other owners and tenants, most recently The Grocery Outlet. Lack of a grocery store in the area meant a long drive for Eastside residents, so Smart and Final, a warehouse-type grocer, has been a welcome sight in the area.

"Now I won't have to drive all the way to Stockton to shop at Costco," Hendrickson said.

Smart and Final only occupies about 80 percent of the building, leaving two smaller store fronts available for rent.

Contact reporter Rebecca Adler at rebeccaa@lodinews.com.

First published: Wednesday, January 31, 2007