BELLEVILLE — Sharp's Bulk Foods will celebrate the grand opening of its expansion Saturday.

The expansion triples the size of the store, from about 600 square feet to about 1,800 square feet.

"The business is growing," owner Joseph T. Sharp said Wednesday. "Some customers wouldn't come on Saturdays because they knew it was too full in here."

Mr. Sharp and his wife, Martha, opened the store, at 8220 Route 289, on May 1, 1993, almost exactly 15 years ago. They and their seven children live in the house attached to the store.

The store is decorated with yellow walls and a farm scenery border and still has wood floors and counters to preserve the country store effect.

"I don't want to be a supermarket," Mr. Sharp said. "I want to be a country store."

The store does have three wide aisles stocked with their mainstay goods — including meats, cheeses, cereals, flour, soup mixes, and jam — plus more than 100 new items. Mr. Sharp said the expansion allowed them to add items to their snack, candy, cheese, organic and gluten-free lines.

The store sells local honey, maple syrup, potato and macaroni salads, a granola-type breakfast cereal and Great Lakes cheese. The most popular item is the four-year-old cheddar from Great Lakes Cheese Co., Mr. Sharp said.

Customers who haven't visited the store in a while, such as William H. and Dorothy O'Neil, Mexico, were amazed Wednesday at the changes.

"It looks great," the Rev. O'Neil said. "Our friends told us he was expanding. It's really great."

Mr. Sharp said that summer customers have been especially impressed with the changes, which happened over the winter.

"A lot of them didn't realize what we were going to do," he said. Winter business is about half of business during the summer.

During the grand opening Saturday, the store will have specials and samples on several products. All customers who spend at least $10 will receive a free jar of strawberry jam.

Mr. Sharp said he just bought a second cash register. "We'll have two cash registers and three slicers going," he said. "We hope to be able to accommodate everybody."

The store's hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. It is closed Sundays.