By Sheri L. Stuart, Staff Writer
The long-awaited return of the Hamady brand to the Flint market is over. Hamady Complete Food Centers officially opened its doors Wednesday, July 25 with a ribbon cutting ceremony at its 74,000-square-foot facility in the Hallwood Plaza located at Clio and Pierson Road. Many local residents said they were excited to welcome the return of the iconic brand, which served the Flint area more than 25 years ago. At its peak, the Hamady supermarket chain, which was based in Flint, had 37 stores and 1,300 employees.
“I enjoyed shopping at Hamady Brothers on Hamilton and Saginaw Street. That was in the late 70s,” said Eric Nunley. “I think it’s nice that they decided to come back, and this is a good location,” he said.
“I like that the store is spacious. The aisles weren’t cramped up. You can get through them pretty good,” said Tony Burton. “We need to give the other stores some competition,” he said.
The store officially opened at 7:00 a.m., but store CEO Jim McColgan said residents were in the parking lot as early as 6:40 a.m. He said it was an emotional journey leading up to the grand opening.
“This day means a lot of exciting times. I have the tremendous support of all the people from this area. I’m so happy for the team members that are a part of this because they have jobs. Our guests that are shopping here are so happy. I couldn’t ask for a better day,” he said.
“Hamady has been absent from this community for a long time,” said Kerry Nelson, customer service manager. A hundred new jobs have been created and the convenience of a full service grocery store has been absent for the past seven to eight years, so a lot of the community is excited about this store coming, he said.
The store is open seven days a week -7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
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Sheri L. Stuart is a multi-platform journalist who enjoys delivering business, consumer and lifestyle news to a global audience.