By the 6am opening time, over 100 people were in line to be the first shoppers.

The new King Soopers at MLK Blvd. and Havana St. in Stapleton’s Eastbridge neighborhood opened at 6am on June 21. It is about the same size as the one on Quebec St. but it feels bigger with its industrial-style high ceilings and skylights.

A mosaic of the Stapleton control tower is visible behind the table with free coffee and donuts for early shoppers.

Manager Greg Dietz, who was manager at the Quebec store for two-and-a-half years before coming to the new store, acknowledges that with 40,000 customers a week, the Quebec store was ready for the reprieve this second store about two miles to the east will offer.

The new store has approximately 175 employees, with about 80 on duty at peak times and just 6 or 7 at the least busy times, according to Dietz. The store is open daily from 5am until midnight.

One of the store’s features is a fresh salad bar.

Dietz points out that the fresh and prepared food sections around the perimeter of the store are larger than those at the Quebec store, and offer somewhat more organic products.

Early customer Kelly McDonald, who lives nearby, was heard to say as she walked in the door on, “We’ve been waiting for this forever!”

King Soopers managers greet shoppers with a handshake.