Former Vice President of Operations for Lingles, Harry Ruiz, has proudly taken ownership of the former Lingles location at 701 Allegheny St., Jersey Shore, and converted it into a Save A Lot, one of the country’s largest discount grocery chains. Ruiz, a Montoursville resident, said he is dedicated to keeping prices affordable while maintaining popular features like the store’s deli, bakery and “award-winning” meat department.

Ruiz, the Save A Lot team and members of the community kicked off the grand opening Thursday morning with a ribbon-cutting, welcoming Jersey Shore to the newly refurbished store, freshly stocked with brand-new merchandise.

“I’m local. I live in Montoursville, I have roots here, my family lives here and we’re here to stay. We want the community to know that we’re here to provide affordable groceries,” said owner and operator, and, most importantly, team member, Harry Ruiz.

“I’ve been in grocery and wholesale distribution my whole life,” said Ruiz, who has worked for Lingle’s Neighborhood Market for the past seven years. “With Bill (Lingle) retiring, it gave a perfect opportunity for me to become an owner.”

HUNTER SMITH/THE EXPRESS Customers line up outside Save A Lot’s new location at 701 Allegheny St., Jersey Shore, on Thursday, Feb. 27. Through Sunday, the store is giving away a free bag of groceries to the first 25 customers at the door.

During the ribbon-cutting, Ruiz thanked the community, his team, his family and Save A Lot for helping bring this opportunity to life. Among those in attendance were other local business owners and the mayor of Jersey Shore, Lon Myers.

“I believe in the brand and I believe in the team,” Ruiz said. “So, I was fortunate enough to buy this store, South Williamsport and Lock Haven as well.”

Prior to the grand opening on Feb. 27, construction workers were hard at work reflooring the store, giving the business a fresher, cleaner and more modern look. Though most of the work is complete, a few final touches remain.

“We have some exciting projects coming our way. In the next couple of weeks, you’ll be seeing a lot of new and exciting things, so bear with us,” said Ruiz.

“It looks great,” said Colleen Pricher, of Avis, who was visiting the store to see the new improvements. “It’s clean and fresh.”

HUNTER SMITH/THE EXPRESS Various displays of local color and spirit have been added to the grocery store.

Because the store had to switch distributors, it now features new merchandising and an entirely new selection of products. With the store’s updated pricing model, customers can also expect more savings.

“We partner with Save A Lot, so we offer products up to 40 percent less than conventional stores,” Ruiz explained. With over 750 locations in the chain, Save A Lot is able to negotiate better deals with suppliers, allowing savings to be passed on to customers.

Amy Hoffman, a team member at the store for the past 20 years, spoke on behalf of the employees.

“I am very excited for this new opportunity, this new step forward,” she said. “I believe we have a lot of extremely great products to bring everybody some amazing prices.”

Hoffman encouraged customers to share suggestions for items to stock or ways the store could improve.

HUNTER SMITH/THE EXPRESS Various displays of local color and spirit have been added to the grocery store.

“Please come find me anytime. I’m more than happy to listen to what you have to suggest and do my best to make that happen,” she said.

“We may not have everything a traditional grocery store has, but this is a hybrid so we can bring product in as customers request it,” said Ruiz.

Through Sunday, the store is giving away a free bag of groceries to the first 25 customers at the door. Local vendors, including Utz, Valley Farms and Nittany Valley Creamery, will also be on-site throughout the week handing out samples.

Customers can also visit stations for popcorn, cotton candy or nachos around the store to interact with Ruiz and the team throughout the week.

The Jersey Shore store is open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, customers can visit savealot.com.

HUNTER SMITH/THE EXPRESS Ruiz’s family poses beside the popcorn station at Jersey Shore Save A Lot’s grand opening.