Customers rave at grand opening of Nugget Market

There was enough traffic at Town Center to suggest a modern day gold rush might have been taking place.Turns out, all those people simply wanted was a glimpse of a single Nugget.Hundreds of shoppers poured through the doors Jan. 30 for the grand opening of Nugget Markets store No. 9.And none of them seemed to be disappointed, even if finding a parking place opening day was more challenging than panning for gold.Kristine Powers, who made her way from Folsom for the store's curtain-raiser, stopped in the produce aisle to admire the eye-catching vertical display case."It's like a Farmers' Market cathedral," she said.Not a discouraging word was heard from shoppers at El Dorado Hills's newest supermarket."I live just down the street from Safeway," said El Dorado Hills resident Al Collins, who said he has shopped at the Roseville Nugget Market in the past. "But I'm still going to come here."Collins said the new grocery store is a quality market with good service and lots of smiling faces.Eric Stille, president and CEO of Woodland-based Nugget Markets, spoke briefly in the lobby moments before the grand opening to a gathering of employees and a throng of eager shoppers, who spilled out the front door."There's something special happening in El Dorado Hills," Stille said. "The Town Center is the new downtown of El Dorado Hills."Stille said he and his staff are overwhelmed by the open-armed welcome from the community."The reception from the community is amazing," he said. "They're excited. We're excited."El Dorado Hills resident Judy Carlson resembled that comment."I've been waiting for this for a long time after reading a couple of articles about it in the Telegraph," Carlson said. "I'm very pleased. The quality looks great and the prices look appealing."Most appealing for Karen Jones, who lives in Fair Oaks and works at the nearby Blue Shield office building, is the wide selection of locally grown wines."My first purchase was the wine on sale," she said, holding up a bottle of Cooper from Amador County. "I also got a bottle of Grey Goose vodka at cost."Jones thinks the new store appeals not only to residents of El Dorado Hills but also to out-of-town dwellers who work there."I know a lot of the 1,500 employees at Blue Shield will shop here," she said. "We've been talking about it for months."From the glossy, glass-like floors to the ritzy upstairs café with a view, the new Nugget Market seems a perfect fit for Town Center."For the Serrano group, this is going to be huge," said Jones, 47. "For us middle-aged folks, it's just what we've been looking for."