ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - An Aug. 8 ribbon-cutting celebrated the new ownership of UPS Store 1040 on 8698 Elk Grove Blvd. and the location at 4900 Elk Grove Blvd. in the Elk Grove Commons shopping center.

This celebration marked the grand opening of this store under the new ownership of Shelby and Zain Lilani, who recently moved from Visalia to Elk Grove. Many Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce members attended this celebration, including town planner Joyce Nazabal and ambassador Ryan Lowery, along with the new owners’ friends and family.

Shelby Lilani said she and Zain took ownership of the store on June 1. She said that they have a notary on staff and that no appointment is necessary for those services. Other services that UPS offers are live scanning, providing mailbox services as well as basic shipping services. 

“Our goal is to be a one-stop shop for the community,” Shelby Lilani said.

For the past 20 years, the UPS Store 1040 in Elk Grove was owned by Greg Higley, who retired and sold the store to the Lilanis, according to store manager Carly Rhoades. Rhoades said that Higley liked the Lilanis’ personalities and that they were a good fit for the community.

“I was a little nervous before meeting the new owners because I was so used to the old owner,” Rhoades said. “When I finally met them, I instantly adored them.”

UPS franchise consultant Renee Montez said a time-saving kiosk will be added so that customers can scan their Amazon returns without talking to a sales associate.

“Whenever a franchisee gets into the network, we want to show the community that we’re putting money into the store and making a commitment,” Montez said.

Zain Lilani said that his brother and sister-in-law own a couple of UPS stores in Southern California, and he and Shelby like the concept of UPS stores.

Shelby Lilani said that she and Zain moved to Elk Grove from Visalia after purchasing the stores and wanted to find a place to create a new home and become involved with the community. 

She said that there are plans to remodel the store with a new design by next March.

“Once we decided to pursue buying the UPS store, we went through the franchise-on-location process to pick an area,” Shelby Lilani said. “We picked Northern California but we had our hearts set on the Sacramento area, and when we found some stores for sale, we went and checked out the city and the stores and fell in love with them instantly.”

The Lilanis were welcomed with an amazing staff on the premises, however, many of the current employees are headed back to college full time, so the plan is to hire more employees.

“We were lucky to enough to have an amazing staff, [now] we are open to new applications,” Lilani said. 

“A few of our employees are about to start college full time and they wouldn’t be a part of our team, so we are open to new applications,” Zain Lilani said.