Shoppers lined the sidewalk Thursday in anticipation of the grand opening of Hudson’s Dirt Cheap, the newest store in Demopolis.

After a brief ribbon cutting hosted by the Demopolis Area Chamber of Commerce, the doors were thrown open and customers flooded inside.

“It was a great early turnout,” Hudson’s district manager Edmund Sanders said. “It was exciting to see the customers here early, waiting for us before we even opened.”

Hudson’s Dirt Cheap is a retail salvage company, which purchases liquidations, customer returns, overstocks, out-of-season goods, bankruptcies, and closeouts from manufacturers, distributors and other retailers across North America.

Sanders said the company, in turn, ships the goods to their Dirt Cheap locations, where they are made available to the public.

“All the items are new,” he said. “In the cases of electronics, they may be floor models or displays, but they are all new items.”

The Demopolis location marks Hudson’s eighth Dirt Cheap store in Alabama.

“We were looking to expand our footprint in Alabama,” Sanders said. “When this building was made available to us, it was just a perfect fit. The entire shopping center was just recently renovated and had acquired several new tenants. It was just an ideal size and an ideal location.”

Hudson’s is now the most recent occupant of the Gateway Plaza, which also houses Main Moon Chinese Restaurant and is anchored by Marvin’s and Demopolis Marketplace.

The entire plaza has been revitalized over the past year and is expected to reach full occupancy in the next few months as Demopolis Marketplace expands its grocery store into the remaining adjacent space.

“We’re looking to add a deli and bakery, expand our meat department, expand frozen foods and the dairy,” said store manager James Reed. “We’re just wanting to grow the store and expand our selection for the customers.”