A mother of two moved to Pullman and will open a new Grocery Outlet on Oct. 15 on Grand Avenue.

Melinda Parks, independent owner-operator of the grocery store, is from north Idaho. She is a family-oriented mother with 15 years of various retail management experience. 

Parks said this is her first time owning a business. 

“Anytime I would do my grocery shopping, I would just have an amazing experience within the [Grocery Outlet] and I thought to myself, you know, if I enjoy shopping here so much, this could be somewhere where I would really enjoy working,” she said.  

Family is what drove her to Pullman, Parks said. Her two children will start college soon. One of her sons is interested in WSU, and the other wants to go to the University of Idaho.

With her children so close to home and the grocery store near the colleges, this was the perfect outcome for the family, Parks said. 

There will be the same name-brand items that other grocery stores offer, but Grocery Outlet will have lower prices, such as 40-70 percent off standard pricing, Parks said. 

Grocery Outlet can offer lower prices for the customers because the store buys surplus inventory from its supplier, which costs less, she said. The store will constantly have new products on its shelves because of its surplus inventory model.

The grocery store has also created 30 new jobs for the community, she said. 

Grocery Outlet will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily starting Oct. 15. It is located at 1450 S. Grand Ave.