Suffolk’s newest restaurant opened Thursday with a ribbon cutting and a line that extended to the door.

Moe’s Southwest Grill greeted customers with shouts of “Welcome to Moe’s” and began serving up freshly made burritos, tacos, salads, chips and salsa.

More than a dozen employees cooked and served the food under the watchful eyes of training managers. Meanwhile, owners Todd Tillery and Chip Kimnach made sure everything was running smoothly.

“This is our fifth opening, and it never gets any easier,” Tillery said during a pause in his work.

But, he added, all the buzz and excitement leading up to the opening has created good energy. For weeks now, folks have been walking into the restaurant daily, asking when it will open.

Lynda Kennedy was the first customer in line after arriving about 30 minutes before the opening time. She marked the accomplishment with a photo posted on Facebook from her mobile phone.

“I love Moe’s,” she said, adding she visits the Moe’s restaurants in Chesapeake and Norfolk every time she goes that way. “I’m very excited to have one here. The food is really, really good.”

Before the ribbon-cutting, Councilman Charles Parr said the restaurant had been long awaited.

“We’ve waited a long time to be able to say in Suffolk, ‘Welcome to Moe’s,’” he said.

The restaurant is the newest tenant in the shopping center at 1217 N. Main St., built on the site of the old health department building. The center also includes Panera Bread, Sleepy’s, sweetFrog and SportClips.

The 2,400-square-foot restaurant features an outdoor seating area and a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine, which offers more than 100 varieties of beverages.