Jesse McAuliffe, store leader at the new Klamath Falls Holiday

Market, was more than ready to move into the area with his wife and two daughters.

McAuliffe, who first started as a courtesy clerk for the now employee-owned California-based company 19 years ago, was interested in getting back into the management game once he heard about the opportunity.

“I’ve always liked Oregon anyways,” McAuliffe said as he continued work to help organize the store Thursday afternoon. “They were happy with it, I was happy with it, so it was a match made in heaven.”

Some of McAuliffe’s relatives are also no strangers to the Klamath Basin: he said that his mom grew up in Klamath Falls, in addition to family also having a ranch up near Fort Klamath.

“More or less, I’m kind of from here-ish,” McAuliffe said with a smile.

Opening shop

Staff at the North Eighth Street market, which brought in seven Holiday Market employees and hired more than 47 people locally, are hoping to open as soon as next week. Richie Morgan Jr., North State Grocery CEO, said he now hopes to have everything in order by Friday, Sept. 7 as they wrap up construction.

Morgan added that he would have a more accurate answer by noon Friday.

Residents in and near downtown Klamath Falls have expressed the need for a new grocery store for some time since Haggen shuttered its doors at the same location in summer 2015.

Several previous articles in the Herald & News outline the Holiday Market deal efforts, which included work through the Klamath County Commissioners and Klamath County Economic Development Association (KCEDA).

In October 2017, county commissioners agreed to sign on with North State Grocery, which led to the purchase of the property at 211 N. Eighth St. The company first paid $1.9 million for the site.

Walking through the new Holiday Market store in downtown Klamath Falls Thursday, Morgan reflected on continued construction and gearing up to open its doors.

A fresh take

North State Grocery made the decision to remodel the entire interior and a small section of the store’s front entrance. Morgan described this as an example of the company’s commitment to the new location at a KCEDA meeting last week.

The company paid about $2.2 million to paint, create new fixtures and remodel the front entrance, according to Morgan.

“We want to make sure that if we do this, we do this right,” Morgan said on Aug. 21.

The new Holiday Market looks quite different from when Haggen moved in many years prior. Shelves that were previously more plain and white, as they were at the previous Safeway, are now more similar to fixtures seen across Holiday Markets in California.

Morgan describes the store as having a “really good feel,” touching on points such as an open bakery-deli section near windows, a fully stocked walk-in beer case and soon-to-be open Sky Lakes Medical Center pharmacy to the right of the main entrance when customers walk in.

Meanwhile, McAuliffe said he’s ready to be open for business and eager to help shoppers at the neighborhood grocery store.

“All I hear is how excited people are,” McAuliffe said.

To read this article and others on the Herald and News website, please refer to the following link: 

Inside Look: Holiday Market Readies for Early September Opening (H&N)