Shoppers flooded the aisles of the new Marc’s grocery store on Water Street Wednesday morning to check out the store’s offerings at the new Kent location.

“Before, I would have to go to my house and then have to travel another two or three miles,” said Lara Ward, a junior public health major, who attended the store’s grand opening yesterday. “Now, I can leave campus, swing by here and pick up groceries on the way home.”

The store, which housed a Tops Friendly Markets about a decade ago, stocks a full grocery and food selection with a deli, fresh produce,  wine section and a wide variety of international and ethnic foods. The store is covered in Kent spirit, with large photos of city landmarks including the Kent Fire Department, Kent Free Library and Kent State University hanging from the walls of the discount food store.

Timothy Sowers, general manager of the new Marc’s location, said he’s excited for Marc’s to be a part of Kent community. He said he hopes both college students and residents of Kent come in and save money.

“We try to be a little more personal with the customers,” Sowers said. “Any part of the community that we go to, we really try and stay involved with it.”

With 58 other locations in northeast Ohio, Sower said the store’s opening will bring more than 100 jobs to the Kent Community.

The plaza currently has two smaller storefronts in business, Fancy Nails and Famous Hair, but the 49,839-square-foot shopping center, which makes up the vast majority of the plaza, has stood empty since Tops Friendly Markets closed more than nine years ago, according to a Daily Kent Stater article published last March.

Deville Developments bought the property, located at 1590 S. Water St., for $600,000, according to property records from the Portage County Auditor’s Office.

Attorney Eric J. Williams purchased the property Feb. 27 and then turned it over to Deville Developments.

The property had an appraised value of more than $3 million last August, according to Portage County records, nearly $1 million less than its appraised value of $3.99 million in 2012. The land value alone was appraised at $706,100, according to the records.

The grocery store is open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Contact Alyssa Flynn at [email protected].