LORAIN — The long-awaited Super Wal-Mart at Lighthouse Village in Lorain opened this morning and saw a steady stream of shoppers all day long.

Store co-manager Lori Graham called the turnout “much better than what we thought,” adding that more than 200 people were at the door when the store opened at 7:30 a.m. A ribbon-cutting with Lorain Mayor Tony Krasienko preceded the store’s official opening, she said.

Graham, who said she’s originally from Vermilion and is just now coming back to town, said she’s happy to bring Wal-Mart to Lorain. The store employs 430 associates who are all new, local hires from Lorain, Vermilion, Amherst and Elyria, she said.

More photos below.

The grocery section is by far the store’s most popular, Graham said about midday today.

“They’re happy to finally be able to get groceries,” Graham said of shoppers’ comments to her.

Ron and Debbie Ziler of Lorain agreed. They were checking out some of the prepared foods, including ready-to-bake pizzas.

“There’s nothing else like this” selection-wise around here, Ron said.

Tina Kobylski from Elyria was stocking up on groceries this morning, but she had even more incentive to be excited to check out the new store. She works at the North Olmsted Wal-Mart, and her husband works at the new Lorain store.

Joe Niemsky of Lorain sat in the car and enjoyed free popcorn while his wife, Betty, shopped. They said they simply “needed some stuff” and usually go to Elyria to shop but were glad to stay closer to home.

Betty said she bought cleaning supplies and some bread but expects the new store will take some getting used to.

“It’s a big store,” she said. “I’ve got to get used to it. I’m used to the little ones.”

Store management acknowledged the layout could be a bit of a problem for shoppers who’ve gotten used to the Super Wal-Marts in Elyria or Oberlin. The Lorain store is set up in reverse, with groceries on the left.

Cheryl Buckley and her mother Ingrid Wicker, both of Lorain, were shopping with Cheryl’s children, Timothy, 2, and Abigail, 3. They enjoyed the free samples the store was giving out and ended up with an impromptu purchase of two dozen doughnuts they sampled in addition to the groceries and and household supplies they loaded up on.

The new Wal-Mart also contains a photo center, vision center, hair salon, nail salon, bank and Subway restaurant.

Graham said Wal-Mart has plans to bring in “retail-tainment” special events on weekends, but she didn’t have specifics immediately available.

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