GASTONIA -- Hundreds of people lined up at the Gastonia Conference Center Wednesday in the hopes of getting a new job.
Retail store Gabe's, which sells clothes, electronics, and home goods, will open in Gastonia in early March. The company is holding a two-day hiring event to fill more than 170 positions.
Applicants go through two rounds of interviews and could be hired on the spot.
"I haven't had a job in 14 months," said Kista Gibson of Gastonia. "So it was great to come out here today and just get the job like that."
Gabe's is going into a 50,000 square foot space on New Hope Road that used to be occupied by Target.
"It will help the economy dramatically in this area," said Jeff Spear, the general manager at Gabe's. "That store sat empty for a long time and now we're going into it, and hopefully bringing a lot of jobs to this area."
The new Gastonia Gabe's will be one of the first two locations to open in North Carolina, and the company has high hopes as they break into a new market. The new hires do too.
"It's something different," said Martrice Love, who was hired on Wednesday. "It's something folks ain't never really seen. So I want people to come and check it out."
Gabe's is set to open on Saturday, March 7.
The hiring event for Gabe's will continue Thursday at the conference center from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Applicants should bring two forms of ID and prepare to be interviewed.