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Central Point Albertson's opens Photo by Bob Pennell Gary Tulare of Medford stocks Pepsi products in the New Central Point Albertson's Tuesday afternoon. The 62,000-square-foot store opens for business today. City's rapid growth makes it an ideal site for new store By DAVID PRESZLER CENTRAL POINT -- This city's days as a one-grocery-store town end today. Albertson's Inc. opens its massive store in the new Mountain View Plaza off Interstate 5 this morning. The 62,000-square-foot store will be the grocery chain's largest in Oregon. It is approximately twice the size of Central Point's other full-service grocery store, Ray's Sentry Market on Pine Street. The big store fits with the big changes Central Point has seen in the past decade. The city's population has grown 55.8 percent since 1990, swelling to 11,700. Central Point leaders and residents say the store's opening reflects its coming of age. "It creates a positive image for tourists and travelers on the interstate," says Mayor Bill Walton, who will attend today's 8 a.m. grand opening ceremony. He says the store will help draw people off the freeway and into town. "It'll just add some more convenience to the town," says Charlie Creese of Central Point, who stopped for a cup of coffee at the Koffee Klatsch earlier this week. The store will employ about 120 people, about half of whom moved over from the Bear Creek Plaza store in Medford. The company closed the Medford store Tuesday to coincide with the opening of the new store. The new store's design and services are very similar to the two that opened last year in Medford, with a few notable exceptions. For example, the Central Point store will be the company's first in Oregon and only the second in the nation to feature a lawn and garden center. Mike Griffin, the store's manager, said the center made sense because of the rural nature of the community and the area. The store also features a Starbucks coffee bar, marking the first entrance into Central Point for the leading gourmet coffee company. Albertson's owns and staffs the coffee shop, though Starbucks did the training. The new Albertson's will have a few familiar faces behind the pharmacy counter. The company announced Tuesday that it has purchased Budget Pharmacy of Central Point. The pharmacy's store at 507 S. Front St. closed Tuesday. Lowell Anderson, the pharmacy's owner and a fixture in the Rogue Valley for more than four decades, will join Albertson's staff part-time. The pharmacy's 10 employees also have been offered positions. Todd Anderson, Lowell's son, will manage the Albertson's pharmacy. Albertson's will anchor Mountain View Plaza, which will have more than 100,000 square feet of retail space, according to Chuck Martinez, one of the center's developers. He said it will feature a Blockbuster Video store, a Little Caesar's Pizza, a branch of Klamath First Federal, a Weldon's Cleaners, a Pac Mail and a Si Casa Flores restaurant. Construction on the rest of the buildings is expected to begin this spring. The Central Point store is part of a nationwide flurry of openings by Albertson's, the nation's second largest grocery chain. The Boise, Idaho-based company will open 19 grocery stores this month alone and has more than 2,400 stores and 100,000 employees. It opened two stores in Medford last year and now employs more than 300 people in Jackson County. Central Point residents and merchants say Albertson's represents a nice addition. "It's a good thing," agrees Louise Dunn, owner of Central Point Saloon. "We're going to have growth here and it'll be a positive influx of people." "It's nice to have something other than Ray's," adds Kim Lewis, one of the stylists. Ray's officials didn't return phone calls Tuesday seeking comment about their new competitor. Griffin says Albertson's also expects to draw a fair number of shoppers from other northern Jackson County communities. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA