News photo by Steve Schulwitz The new Aldi store in Alpena sits with an empty parking lot on Monday, but the store opens on Thursday with a special ribbon cutting at 8:45 a.m.

ALPENA — The excitement for the grand opening of the new Aldi in Alpena is beginning to amp up and shoppers will be able to get their first look at the new grocery store on Thursday.

The store will officially open after a ribbon-cutting ceremony slated for 8:45 a.m. on Thursday and the store intends to hand out swag to some of the first customers who walk through the front door.

The new store is located at the corner of M-32 and Crittenden Court just past The Home Depot.

To celebrate the grand opening, the first 100 customers will receive a goodie bag filled with samples of some of the store’s products and a gift card.

It has been a long journey for the developer who has had his eyes on Alpena for a new store for years.

Originally, the developer Mike Curtis, worked with the Alpena Public Schools on a proposal that could have had the store constructed at the school district’s bus garage. Curtis would have received the property in exchange for the developer building the school system a new bus garage. A deal appeared imminent several times, including in 2021, but in the end fell through.

Eventually, Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Director Mike Mahler found the property on M-32 and pieces fell into place for the new store.

Curtis said it took longer than he hoped to make the store a reality, but he is excited for it to open and to service the people in Northeast Michigan.

“It has been a long journey and it was challenging, but I’m extremely happy for the community,” Curtis said. “Mike (Mahler) deserves a trophy for this. He never gave up on this project, or the Marshall’s project, and we made it to the finish line. That wouldn’t have happened without his efforts.”

The Aldi project may be wrapping up, but there are still many other projects that are ongoing in the Alpena area.

There is still construction across the street from the new Aldi where a new Hampton Inn is quickly taking shape. Mahler said contractors were able to do more work than usual because of the mild weather last winter and he said the new 101-room hotel could be open by the end of the year.

Work in the former Neiman’s Family Market in the Thunder Bay Shopping Center continues in preparation for the new Ollie’s Bargain Outlet slated to open. The developer hasn’t shared when the store will open, but a temporary sign with the Ollie’s logo is hanging above the entrance of the building.

The Thunder Bay Shopping Center is also going to welcome another new tenant, as the new Starlite Bay Cafe will open its doors where the former Mango’s Express used to be.

The new food park on Johnson Street, where the old Alpena County jail was, will see its first business open this week. The new Biggby Coffee is celebrating its grand opening today, the business’s Facebook page announced. The business, which is owned by Jeff Konczak will be the first of three restaurants to open and utilize the new BCubed XL building structure, which is larger and redesigned from the original BCube Biggby in the Meijer parking lot. Konczak intends to also open a Quiznos and Taco Del Mar in the food park, and work on those is expected soon.