A local Ulta employee takes a photo of shoppers Missy Riddle and Francee Loyd outside the store on Friday morning.

Missy Riddle loves to shop, and loves to to be early — so it’s no surprise she was the first in a long line of customers in front of the new Ulta Beauty at Cullman Shopping Center on Friday.

The store, which actually opened more than a week ago with a “soft” opening, celebrated its grand opening with giveaways for shoppers Friday morning. More than 100 shoppers were on hand for the event.

“We like to shop,” Riddle laughed, joined by her friend Francee Loyd. “We’re here for the gift cards.”

Cullman Mayor Max Townson was on hand with the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce to help cut the ceremonial ribbon, and noted the opening was just the latest in the revitalization of one of the city’s oldest shopping centers.

“We made an agreement with the developer about redeveloping this shopping center, and we’re proud to have Ulta here now and wish them much success,” he said.

Though local employees at the Ulta store could not comment, the company provided a statement noting it was excited to see the new location come online.

“Ulta Beauty provides a compelling and unique array of products and experiences,” said Kelly Smith, who manages all grand openings for Ulta Beauty, in a prepared statement. “We are truly a beauty destination for Cullman and our Ulta beauty experts are ready to help with all of your beauty needs, from the basics to the perfect shade of lipstick to the newest hair tool.”

The beauty shop joins Dick’s Sporting Goods and Publix grocery store as the major tenants on the new addition to the shopping center. A Ross department store and PetSmart are also in the works, though they will be housed in repurposed and rebuilt space from the existing development footprint.

The center, reopening with more than 400,000 square feet of retail, is also 100 percent leased at this point.

In addition to representing a major reinvestment in the north Cullman property, the Cullman Shopping Center project also marks the city’s first-ever foray into a retail tax-sharing agreement as part of the recruitment incentive package.

The city council agreed to a tax-sharing agreement with Merchants Retail Partners (MRP) in 2013 worth up-to $6 million. Under the deal, businesses in the development will still pay sales tax, though the city will pay back some of those funds for a set period of time. The deal only affects city sales tax (1.75 percent) and does not include education taxes.

Current estimates show those amounts would total approximately $276,000 paid back via a portion of existing sales tax the first three years, with as much as $800,000 produced (and split) in the subsequent seven years from new development. The city also approved $1.8 million in infrastructure upgrades for the project in 2014.