If someone was to turn off M-60 onto Spencer Road in Cassopolis, they would be met with large, multicolored flags and bunting announcing that a new business has opened on the block.

Shop 4 Less, 118 Spencer Road, recently opened up near the G.W. Jones Bank in Cassopolis. The storefront offers name brand food and goods at 20 to 80 percent off retail prices.

“We want to provide products that are cheaper, but close to home,” said owner of Shop 4 Less Sam Awshana. “People don’t need to drive far away for something like this.”

Awshana is able to keep his prices low by modeling his business after stores like ALDI that purchase wholesale, bulk pallets that contain different products directly from a distributor. These pallets can sometimes be damaged in a way that makes them unable to be sold to bigger stores such as Walmart or Meijer, but the products remain in a useable and saleable condition.

The pallets are generically labeled with categories such as “health and beauty” or “food.” Awshana is never exactly sure what will be in the pallets. Sometimes he will get a product in one shipment that will not be in the next.

“We don’t know what’s in the pallets. They are shrink wrapped,” Awshana said. “Sometimes it’s a surprise. We just open it up and see the pallets, so every two to three months, we may have different merchandise.”

Despite this, he attempts to ensure that he is able to get products that have been requested by customers. For example, sitting in Awshana’s store is a rack of 99-cent reading glasses that he acquired after a woman mentioned she would like the store to carry them.

This is the type of customer service that Awshana feels will make his business successful.

“We always have a 100-percent guarantee,” he said. “Everything will be great, 100 percent.”

More than just a business venture, Awshana views Shop 4 Less as a way to express his entrepreneurial spirit and contribute to the Cassopolis community.

The building where Shop 4 Less is located had been empty for several years, according to Awshana. Putting a store there not only gave gave him a place to start a business, but also gave him a way to give back to the community and help it grow.

“Wherever we see opportunity, we jump in on it,” he said. “I wanted to offer something to the neighborhood. It looks good for the neighborhood when people come from other places and different towns to shop here. That’s our goal.”

Currently, Shop 4 Less has not been advertising, though Awshana is currently working on getting a Facebook page up and running for the business. For the time being, he is relying on word of mouth to bring in business.

“This have been going very good,” Awshana said. “In a town this size, people tell each other [about the business], and people have been coming in constantly.”

His plan seems to be working so far.

Cassopolis resident Felicia Williams was impressed with Shop 4 Less upon her first visit, and plans to spread news of the new store with her family, specifically her college-aged daughter.

“This place is really great especially if you are in college or on a budget,” Williams said. “I will definitely be back.”