COLUMBIA, Md. — Just about all of us are feeling the pinch in the checkout aisle these days. But one local family is hoping their new Grocery Outlet, a discount grocery chain, will soon help folks bring home the basics in Howard County.
The Mirzas are putting on the finishing touches ahead of the grand opening this Thursday on Lynx Lane in Columbia.
“We’re really excited, because we feel a sense of welcoming from the community,” noted Jay Mirza, operator of the Columbia location, to WMAR.
Jay and Rizwana Mirza have put a lot of work into preparing the operation.
“I’m here usually, 7 in the morning and I don’t leave 10, 11, 12 at night,” Jay added.
That work includes letting nearby neighbors know.
“We go door-to-door advertising ourselves, kind of, letting know the community that we’re here,” Rizwana recalled.
The chain is focused on discount groceries; in Maryland, the cost of living is already high, …