Back in March, the Eagle reported on what would be the newest addition to Ekalaka's Main Street.

The much anticipated opening of Ijkalaka Grocery took place on Tuesday.

At an impressive 5,200 square feet, the brand new grocery shares its name (Ijkalaka) with the town's namesake, Ijkalaka Russell, a native Sioux who was the wife of David Harrison Russell.

According to store employee Dylan Mulkey, there was a steady flow of customers checking out the new digs throughout Tuesday morning and afternoon. Many were filling shopping carts while others had only stopped in to take a quick look and said they would be back to do their shopping later.

Mulkey is a welcome and familiar face customers may see upon entering the store. He joins a few other fellow employees who previously worked at Main Street Market in Ekalaka, and is joined by a couple of new co-workers as well.

A fire destroyed Main Street Market back in December of 2018. The town went without a grocery store for several months until Branson Grocery opened on Mormon Avenue in 2019. That store was only in operation for a short time as it closed this spring. Ekalaka had been without a grocery store since.

Saying the community was excited on Tuesday would be an understatement.

Ijkalaka Grocery is a member of Associated Food Stores, a retailers cooperative that supplies about 500 independently owned retail supermarkets throughout Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Colorado, Montana, Oregon, Nevada and Wyoming. The store is owned and operated by Buck and Toni Kratzer, with the help of their three daughters.

Freezers line one outside wall of the store. Another is lined with coolers. Wide shopping aisles allow for plenty of maneuverability to accommodate several shoppers at a time. Two check-out counters sit at the front of the store.

Kratzers are still finishing up some of the store's details but wanted to open for the community. A deli at the front of the store is coming soon, and they are hopeful they will have all of the necessary documentation to be able to sell beer, wine and tobacco in the near future.

The front of the building has yet to be finished as they were focusing on the interior so that they could open as soon as possible.

"We're planning to hold a grand opening soon," Toni Kratzer told the Eagle on Tuesday. "Keep an eye out for that."

Ijkalaka Grocery is open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.