The A&P store opened its doors on Thursday.
"Oh it's great! It's just great because it's a sign of life, that the town is going to come back," said Eileen Ciliento of Lavallette.
Eileen and her husband were among the first customers at the store, which has just undergone a $3 million renovation. People were actually smiling as they strolled the aisles and shopped.
"I think it's a great, fabulous thing. It's very nice. It helps bring the morale up to see things come back to normal," said recovery contractor Val Cortese.
Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno was on hand for the official ribbon cutting.
"Anybody who walks through this building is going to know that not only are we recovering, but we are recovering faster and stronger and better than anybody ever expected us to do," Guadagno said.
"It's very important for us to get back in the community and get opened back up to a kind of normalcy," said executive vice president Paul Hertz.
Four months after the storm, parts of Ortley Beach still look like a bomb hit. Everyone in this area has suffered, from the customers to the guy behind the counter who slices the cold cuts.
"The house is still fine, but we lost everything inside," said deli counter employee Donovan Boding. "But, you know, it's not the worst that could have happened."
Customers say that it may take a while to learn the new layout and get used to where everything, is but that's not a problem. They're just thrilled to have their local supermarket back.
"We waited three months to get some pork chops because they have the best pork chops," said Joyce Palazzi of Lavallette.
