ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - Hundreds of shoppers lined up early Sept. 12 to get first crack at the products and services inside the long-awaited Amazon Fresh Market in The Ridge shopping center at Elk Grove Boulevard and Bruceville Road.

An Amazon staffer in a crossing-guard vest stopped Costco Gasoline traffic for the curious customers to cross the parking lot; the line stretched all the way to Nordstrom Rack. Amazon Fresh provided handy cloth shopping bags to the shoppers, and the earliest arrivals received gift cards.

Games, snacks and drinks were on hand for those waiting in line, while in the store, green-shirted employees checked shelf straightness and put finishing touches on the grab-and-go items.

Employees also provided tech support for self-check customers and those who chose the high-tech smart carts. These carts scan and weigh purchases so app-wielding customers can shop and roll without scanning their own goods or dealing with clerks.

The high-tech and the old-school crossed paths as well. Amazon Fresh used direct mail in Elk Grove to invite customers in, and it produced a printed sales circular for those who like to read and shop.

The aisles of merchandise resemble the wares in other grocery stores. But each Amazon Fresh item has a dynamic smart tag that allows instant updating. It also shows Prime customers where they can get discounts.

Amazon Fresh is the first ground-up grocery project in many years for Elk Grove. And with this store opening, Laguna-area consumers have several grocery options. 

Other nearby stores include Trader Joe’s, Nugget and Costco on the same intersection as Amazon Fresh. 

And a Safeway a mile south on Bruceville Road is slated to open Oct. 9. 

Whole Foods, also an Amazon company, is under construction two blocks east as part of The Village, a new shopping center.