TOUR: Food Bazaar - Elizabeth, NJ Part 3

Yes, this is the last day of the Elizabeth Food Bazaar! Today we'll be seeing some coverage of the grand opening celebration, which really was a big party. The Market Report was on-site for the opening speeches as well (although I got stuck in traffic on the way and was almost late), then we took a look around the store, even getting the chance to speak with Bogopa Service Corp's president and CEO, Spencer An.

Let's begin with some photos of the festivities.

As you can see here, the place was packed. All the important people were there, but a lot of people just came for the free food and giveaways. I got a free reusable bag filled with Bogopa brand products just for being one of the first 1000 shoppers.

Inside, the store was packed and the atmosphere was just one big party. Tables were set up along the front end where employees served free fruit, cheese, fresh-baked breads and muffins from the store's bakery department, and beverages.

It's a nice way to welcome customers to the new store, but it's also a great way to show off the catering specialties from the deli department.

Inside, I did manage to catch a picture of An, if only the back of his head. But don't worry, you can watch his full opening speech, along with Director of Marketing Suzanne Kuczun and Elizabeth mayor Chris Bollwage, right here. UPDATE: I've fixed it with the video embedded.

And here are some assorted pictures from the ribbon cutting. The Star-Ledger got a better view than I did, but that's okay.

 Bogopa Food Bazaar president Spencer An, right.

 Elizabeth mayor J. Christian ("Chris") Bollwage in the dark suit to the right.

 Not sure how I got this (almost) great shot. Maybe I just pushed a lot of people out of the way, I don't remember. Store manager Kevin Kim, far left.

If you've never been to a supermarket ribbon cutting, you really should. This was a lot of fun! Now on to the rest of the city tomorrow.

Photographed July 2016