Whether it was a sign of the economic times, the local situation or the fact that there are plenty of shrewd shoppers or at least curious residents in and around Bogalusa, the opening Wednesday of the Salvage Store Discount Grocery at the former site of Lott and Sons Nissan on Louisiana Highway 10 caused a flurry of activity.

The store opened at 8:30 a.m.

Before 10 a.m., more than 1,500 cases of water had already been sold, at 99-cents a case, and more were going fast.

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The aisles were crowded with men, women and children who’d come to see what kind of goods were available and how much they cost.

“This is going to hurt some of the other stores,” said Mary Williams as she loaded her cart.

She was lucky to have one. Ron Feske, who owns the business with his wife, Becky, seemed a bit startled by the large number of first-day customers. He said they were having to truck in carts from their other locations in Folsom and Franklinton.

“We’re happy to be here,” he said, sweaty and smiling, before being hurried back to work.

Three check-out lines stretched for yards across the store, and people waited at the door for anyone to empty out a cart and render it available. Some even followed shoppers to their vehicles and waited for them to unload.

But the general mood was of fun, not frustration. People of all ages were exploring a new business in town. And they seemed delighted.

The store offers a great variety of discounted grocery items, a few fresh and many canned or frozen.

There were big bags of vegetables, packages of meats, coffees, teas, canned fruit, chips, cereal, cookies, bread, milk, and even wine, pet food, storage containers and Bungee cords.

On Wednesday morning, the parking lot was filled close to capacity, but somehow a steady stream of newcomers continued.

For whatever reason, it seemed like the whole town was drawn to check out the new salvage discount grocery store.

Its hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.