Hundreds of eager customers flocked to Gallery Boulevard in Scarborough Wednesday morning, anticipating the opening of the new Wal-Mart Superstore.

Although the store didn’t officially open until 7:30 a.m., about 250 customers waited in two packed lines outside the doors by 6:45 a.m.

“I love it,” said Dolores Tuttle of Wilton who works in Scarborough. “I always go into the other one practically every morning. There’s a lot more here too, so it will be nice.”

At least one shopper showed up at the doors a little earlier than 6:45 a.m., said Alex Serra, senior manager, public affairs & government relations for Wal-Mart.

“We had a gentleman who was camping out last night,” she said. “He told us he wanted to be the first in line, but he didn’t end up staying overnight because of the cold and wind.”

The grand opening took place at 7 a.m. with pomp and circumstance that included a short speech from Scarborough Town Manager Tom Hall, a choral and band performance by Wentworth Intermediate School students, short speeches from several Wal-Mart managers and executives, and a ceremonial ribbon cutting.

As he looked out over the crowd of customers, employees and Scarborough business leaders, Hall said he was happy to see the enthusiasm surrounding the store’s opening.

“If today’s crowd is going to be any indication, this store is going to be a huge success,” Hall said.

The store takes the place of the Wal-Mart on Payne Road. That store was the first to open in Maine in 1992.

The Superstore is 208,000 square feet of retail space, about 114,000 more square feet than its predecessor. The old store closed for good at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

The aisles have been expanded by 3 feet, and 222 skylights give customers more natural lighting, Serra said.

The new store has a full grocery section, bakery/deli, and expanded lawn and garden, books and electronics sections.

There are two entrances – one at the dairy section and one through electronics.

The pharmacy is also located in the center of the store in the expanded health section.

“This is big,” said customer Elizabeth Bates of Scarborough. “I just got here, and I’m exploring the food section, which is something the old store didn’t have, so this will be interesting.”

Wal-Mart has also eliminated center-aisle displays so customers will no longer need to circumnavigate aisle obstacles while walking through the store, Serra said.

The new store, unlike the old one, features a full tire and lube express service department offering more than 1,000 types of tires.

In addition to an arts and crafts section, the new Wal-Mart has a celebration department. It offers customers everything from wrapping paper and ribbon to greeting cards and party decorations. The store also has 28 cashier checkouts.

It is the only store of its kind in New England because it incorporates the expanded aisles, skylights and no center displays, Serra said.

“I didn’t realize this was going to be this big,” said Melissa Daniel of Cornish who works in Scarborough. “This is huge. It’s nice and it looks like it’s going to have everything, especially food and the prices are low.”

The new Wal-Mart also includes a Dunkin’ Donuts and a pizzeria. Customers can buy a slice of pizza and are allowed to walk around the store with it, Serra said.

The new location is also bringing 200 new jobs to Scarborough.

“This is going to be good for Scarborough,” said Harvey Rosenfeld, executive director of the Scarborough Economic Development Corp. “It’s in a great location that should be able draw mall traffic pretty well.”

The new store was scheduled to open in June 2008, but problems with the soil and a lengthy permitting process delayed the opening, Rosenfeld said.

The Department of Environmental Protection permit was issued in August 2007, but the soil, which was soft, sank about 3 feet below the base of the store. That delayed construction as workers needed to make sure the soil was firm enough to support the foundation, Rosenfeld said.

The soil finally stopped sinking, and construction began last summer. Scarborough approved the project in 2005.

“I think this is just an excellent location,” said Ron Guertin, a member of SEDCO’s board of directors. “The color scheme, the marketing, everything is just going to be great for the community. They did a great job.”

As customers perused the aisles, looking for deals, store manager Jeff Vaillancourt stood back, smiled and took it all in.

“This is immensely amazing,” he said. “I’m at a loss for words right now. I’m just very, very pleased and very appreciative of the town of Scarborough.”

Wal-Mart officials said it was against company policy to discuss how much the new store cost to build.

Paul Lesperance, Scarborough’s tax assessor, said he doesn’t yet know the taxable value of the new store. The old store, however, was worth $14 million and generated about $168,000 per year in real estate tax, he said.

According to the company’s Web site, the first Wal-Mart opened in 1962 in Rogers, Ark. Now, the company has 7,800 stores worldwide and employs about 2 million workers. It serves about 176 million customers annually.

There are 27 Wal-Marts in Maine.

Melissa Daniel, of Cornish, peruses through baby food during the new Wal-MartScores of Wal-Mart shoppers gather Wednesday morning to celebrate the SuperstoreScores of Wal-Mart shoppers gather Wednesday morning to celebrate the Superstore

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