A large crowd gathered Thursday morning as Soelberg’s Market celebrated the grand opening of its new Grantsville store. The new store is the latest chapter for a family-owned grocer whose roots in the community stretch back more than a century.
The Oct. 22 celebration took place at the new store at 274 S. Matthews Lane. The development includes a 46,600-square-foot Soelberg’s Market, 12,480-square-foot Ace Hardware, 1,000-square-foot Birch Family Pharmacy and 486-square-foot Beans & Brews.
Jared Mitchell, vice president of MDI, served as master of ceremonies for the event, which brought together members of the Soelberg family, community leaders, students, shoppers and representatives from Associated Food Stores.
Grantsville Mayor Heidi Hammond addressed the crowd as part of the celebration. Hammond became mayor in January and is the first woman to serve as mayor of Grantsville.
Carol Jefferies and her husband, Dave Jefferies, also spoke, sharing how proud their family is of the new store and what it represents for the future of the family business. Dave added a personal touch to the celebration by sharing a sweet story about how he and Carol first met.
The moment was especially fitting for a family with such deep ties to Grantsville. Soelberg’s history in the community dates to the early 1900s, when Danish immigrant Karl Soelberg entered the grocery business. The family later expanded with a Stansbury Park location in 2011.
Local students also helped make the morning a community celebration. The high school band performed, while a second-grade class from a local elementary school led the large crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Representatives from the AFS board of directors attended along with AFS CEO David Rice, other AFS and ARO leaders and many others who came to support the Soelberg family and celebrate the new store.
The opening concludes a major project designed to give Soelberg’s additional room to serve the growing Grantsville community while maintaining a strong connection to its past. The store’s design incorporates elements of Grantsville history, an approach Carol Jefferies previously said was intentional in creating the new location.
Following the ceremony, the celebration moved inside, where the new store was packed with shoppers.
The strong turnout provided a fitting start for a store built for the future while remaining closely connected to the community Soelberg’s has called home for generations.