GALT, CA (MPG) - About 100 people sat and stood in line before Grocery Outlet opened its doors for the first time Sept. 10 in Galt. 

“Basically, we want to go on a shopping spree,” said Jenny Yang, the fourth in line outside the store at 10570 Twin Cities Road. She was there with Daniel Mejia.

Grocery Outlet offered the first 100 shoppers the opportunity to receive gift cards with values between $5 and $500.  

The potential for $500 is what drew Yang out, she said.

Galt’s Grocery Outlet store is independently owned and operated by Nick Nguyen, who has worked at one since 2018, he told The Galt Herald.

And he took the chance to own one in Fairfield, California, in 2024, he said. That gave him the chance to open Galt’s, he added.

The Galt store opened at 7 a.m. Sept. 10 with people in line around at least two sides of the store. Ken Lee was the first person in line and had been waiting since 2 a.m., he said.

Next was Rick Eck, a resident of Galt for about 18 years.

Eck “couldn’t wait for it” to open, he said.

Employees helped customers set up their phones to make purchases, Eck said.

“Every Grocery Outlet I have been to has been senior-citizen-friendly, he said.

The store in Galt has about 27 employees, Nguyen said, with no plans now to add more.

“It all depends,” he said, on the health of the store.

Plenty of shoppers and dignitaries were at the store at about 10 a.m. for the ribbon-cutting, including Galt Mayor Bonnie Rodriguez and Police Chief Brian Kalinowski.

“What an exciting day for Galt,” Rodriguez said. “For many years we’ve heard people say, ‘We need more places to shop.’”

Nearby resident Tahnru Mort was third in line before the 7 a.m. opening. She arrived at 4 a.m. aiming to get a gift certificate and enjoy the fun of opening a store.

About 20 years ago she was at the grand opening of a discount store in Lodi, she said.

She plans to shop at Grocery Outlet in Galt because of “its good deals.”