Town and Country Foods management says it's been a good first week in Billings after a soft opening last Thursday.
The company's seventh store is in the former Lucky's Market building at West Park Promenade.
"Oh, I'm impressed," said customer Max Lenington.
"It's a lot of stuff here so it looks good here," said customer Ed Jones.
Some like the idea of having a grocery store close to home.
"A lot of friendly faces that are coming in," said Wayde Anderson, store manager. "They're excited that they're here in their neighborhood. We've got a lot of people that live in the area so it makes it really nice for them to shop here."
"This little jaunt is just to come down here in the afternoons," Lenington said. "There's always been a grocery store at West Park. I go back to the early 60s when they built West Park."
"There's a lot of good stuff here," said customer Heather Bierwagen. "Just got some produce and some healthy stuff that I've been looking for."
"It's always interesting to see what new products are available at different stores," Jones said. "This is my first time here so just wanted to see what was here compare it to where I usually go."
Town and Country foods is a Montana company, and some have seen the stores in other parts of the state.
"We go to school in Bozeman," customer Ashley Cooper said about herself and her friend Emma Gleason. "But we're here in Billings for nursing school. We have a Town & Country in Bozeman and we love it. It's cheap. Food's good. Perfect for college students."
"Yeah the store's super nice," Gleason said. "It's a lot more spacey. Just feels less crowded. She even like, Oh there's Town and Country. Want to go there. well like yeah let's go cuz it saves us money."
"Hopefully maybe this weekend we'll be out there roasting some hatch chilies," said Anderson. "Something that a handful of people have already told me. Hey, are you going to do that, because you used to do in Bozeman. That kind of thing. And so we're going to be doing those kinds of things as we move forward."
The store is not complete with more equipment on the way. And the grand opening is planned for September.
"We had a lot of delays with some equipment and that type of thing but got most of it put together," Anderson said. "We thought it was time to open up and let people come take a look at us and purchase some things. And we're still in the process of trying to put a few things together."
"We'll be back," Gleason said.
Anderson said management found workers with years of grocery experience and hired 76 people, which is 90 to 95 percent of its goal of 80 to 85 employees.
