Sedalia residents now have a new supermarket in which to shop. The ribbon was cut Wednesday morning on the new Woods Supermarket in the State Fair Shopping Center.

"We're excited to be open," said store manager Ann Grady. The new Woods is in the former Bing's West location. Woods remodeled and updated the site, and have hired approximately 60 employees for the store. "We've remodeled floors, put in new walls, painted, put in new carpeting, new service cases, we've done a lot."

Grady says that former Bing's Shoppers will notice some changes to the produce and meat departments, in particular. "In the meat department we've put in a service case that Bing's didn't have before. In the produce department we took out some of the coolers and put in some of our own tables, so there's going to be some changes, but I think the customers are really going to like them."

The new Woods will have professional meat cutters on site seven days a week. The Woods Pharmacy, which has been operating as a standalone pharmacy in the shopping center for several months, is also being moved back inside the store. The bakery will feature daily fresh-baked breads and rolls, and the deli will feature a larger “Grab ’n’ Go” section and a new, reach-in, self-service hot food case for rotisserie chickens.

Woods has been serving Sedalia since 1994, when it purchased the former Food Barn store at Broadway and Ohio. That location was closed in April, 2008, when Woods built and opened the 38,000-sq. ft. current Woods Supermarket at 701 East Broadway

“Family owned since 1947, Woods has always strived to be the ‘best hometown grocer’ in Sedalia and each of the communities we serve,” saidWoods Supermarket Chief Executive Officer Craig Easter. “As a company, we are a member of the Chamber of Commerce and support area schools, churches, local food banks, charities, youth/senior groups and the community as a whole. We encourage our employees to get involved in volunteering to make their/our hometowns better places to live. For over 22 years, Sedalia has been good to Woods Supermarket, and we believe Woods has been good to Sedalia. The Woods family is excited to expand our presence in the Sedalia area.”

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