By Meg Thunell
meg@newsroom.byu.edu
Eagle Mountain residents turned out early Saturday morning to welcome the newest member of their community - Morco Express Grocery Store.
The grocery store, located in the town square, is the first business to open in Eagle Mountain since the town was incorporated in 1997.
Many members of this small community, including town officials, attended the early morning grand opening.
Jerry Gaskin of South Jordan, is the owner of Morco Express. He said he brought his store to Eagle Mountain because the community needed it.
'We are very excited to be here,' Gaskin told residents during the ribbon cutting ceremony. 'We have grown attached to little community over the past several months.'
Darrin Brandt, head of the town's economic planning, said the idea for the store was announced in December.
'We ran into some snags with the manufacturers , but Jerry has been terrific. He has been patient and excited about it the whole time.'
When asked about the lack of alcoholic beverages in the store, manager David Blackburn of South Jordan said, 'Eventually we will sell beer here. We have a beer license, but the products just aren't here yet.'
Besides the lack of alcoholic beverages, the store experienced some first-day technical difficulties with its produce and meat sections.
'Please be forgiving as you begin shopping,' Gaskin told residents. 'There are some mistakes, but we will hopefully have it taken care of later today.'
In spite of the problems, Eagle Mountain resident Karlene Carper said she was excited to have the store in town.
'We all live in Eagle Mountain. Now we can live here,' she said.
Before Morco Express opened, residents had to drive to Lehi, nearly 12 miles away, to buy groceries.
Brandt said opening the grocery store is just the beginning of the town's economic development plan.
He said that eventually the town government would like to see technical companies, like software development and Internet groups, move to Eagle Mountain.
'Right now, though, we are working on services for the basic needs of the community, like gas stations and car services.'