Kevin Waters, center, and his wife, Nicole, right, introduce their 11-year-old son, Patrick, to the crowed gathered at the ribbon cutting of the new Grocery Outlet store at the Woodbridge Village Center in Irvine on Oct. 5, 2017. Patrick had been disguising as Grocery Outlet mascot Ben Saven to greet customers. (Tomoya Shimura, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Grocery Outlet opened at the Woodbridge Village Center in Irvine on Oct. 5, 2017. (Tomoya Shimura, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Grocery Outlet opened at the Woodbridge Village Center in Irvine on Oct. 5, 2017. (Tomoya Shimura, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Grocery Outlet opened at the Woodbridge Village Center in Irvine on Oct. 5, 2017. (Tomoya Shimura, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Grocery Outlet opened at the Woodbridge Village Center in Irvine on Oct. 5, 2017. (Tomoya Shimura, Orange County Register/SCNG)



Grocery Outlet opened at the Woodbridge Village Center in Irvine on Oct. 5, 2017. (Tomoya Shimura, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Grocery Outlet opened at the Woodbridge Village Center in Irvine on Oct. 5, 2017. (Tomoya Shimura, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Grocery Outlet opened at the Woodbridge Village Center in Irvine on Oct. 5, 2017. (Tomoya Shimura, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Grocery Outlet opened at the Woodbridge Village Center in Irvine on Oct. 5, 2017. (Tomoya Shimura, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Grocery Outlet opened at the Woodbridge Village Center in Irvine on Oct. 5, 2017. (Tomoya Shimura, Orange County Register/SCNG)



Grocery Outlet opened at the Woodbridge Village Center in Irvine on Oct. 5, 2017. The shopping center, which opened in 1979 is going through its first major update. Shown in the photo is Grocery Outlet, in the back, and the center’s expanded courtyard with a playground overlooking the lake. (Tomoya Shimura, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The Woodbridge Village Center’s expanded courtyard overlooks the lake in Irvine. (Tomoya Shimura, Orange County Register/SCNG)

IRVINE — Kevin and Nicole Waters had always dreamed of running their own small business, like a restaurant or natural food convenient store.

Now, the married couple, who call themselves best friends, have achieved that dream.

They became the owner and operator of the new Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, which opened Thursday, Oct. 5, at the recently renovated Woodbridge Village Center adjacent to Woodbridge’s north lake.

“We want to be a part of that new growth in Woodbridge,” Nicole Waters, 40, said. “It’s such a beautiful place, and we just want to be a part of the community and part of this and we feel so fortunate to be here.”

The Woodbridge Village Center opened in 1979 as a hub of the lake community, but had struggled to keep tenants in recent years.

The Irvine Co. invested $30 million to renovate the center for the first time. Adjacent to Grocery Outlet is the newly expanded 40,000-square-foot plaza for outdoor dining and gatherings overlooking the lake.

Grocery Outlet, headquartered in Emeryville, is often called the T.J. Maxx of supermarkets. The company buys discontinued or overstock name-brand products and sell them at 40 percent to 70 percent of the regular prices.

Stores usually sell fresh produce, meat, deli and dairy with natural and organic choices. They also carry beer and wine as well as health, beauty care and seasonal items.

There are more than 280 locations in California — including Tustin, Orange, Costa Mesa, Westminster and La Habra — Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington.

They are run by independent owner-operators, often couples like the Waters, living in the local community.

Kevin and Nicole Waters moved to Irvine from Arcata, in Humboldt County, to open the Woodbridge store.

Kevin Waters, who has worked in grocery business for more than 20 years, said he knew some people who had become a Grocery Outlet operator and reached out to the company. He and his wife trained for a year before opening their store.

They took a trip to scout more than 10 locations in Southern California and fell in love with Irvine because of its safe neighborhoods and highly ranked school district for their 11-year-old son, Patrick, Kevin Waters said.

“It just had a really nice feel, and we felt like, ‘Yeah we can really live here and be a part of this,'” he said.

The couple said they plan to offer as much NOSH — the company’s term for natural, organic, specialty and healthy — products as possible.

“We have really a lot of freedom to tailor our selection to what the community is telling us they want … which is a lot different than traditional grocery stores,” Kevin Waters said.

Margaret Ferguson, 76, said one of the main reasons she bought her home in Woodbridge 18 years ago was its closeness to the shopping center.

“It feels so much more open now,” Ferguson, who lives next to the lake, said about the renovated center.

She shopped at the new Grocery Outlet on its opening day and said she was impressed by the store’s low prices, paying $13.50 for fruits, vegetables, salad and a bag of nuts.

“I’m so excited about this,” Ferguson said. “It’s so convenient. I can stop by when I just go for a walk. … It’s almost like a community store. I hope to run into people that I know.”

Grocery Outlet in Woodbridge is at 4730 Barranca Parkway, Irvine.