Wal-Mart now hiring for supercenter on Victory Drive

The opening of the Wal-Mart Supercenter on Victory Drive in Columbus is still a few months away, but the search for employees is now underway at the older Wal-Mart discount store on Buena Vista Road that it will replace, the retailer said Wednesday.

Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart said it will need about 150 full- and part-time workers at the 3515 Victory Drive location, with those interested being told to visit a hiring kiosk at the 4701 Buena Vista Road store that is “relocating” to the 159,357-square-foot supercenter location farther south in Columbus. The kiosk is available 6 a.m. to midnight seven days a week. People can also submit applications online via the company’s career page.

Wal-Mart Supercenter manager Quacheryl Pugh, in a statement, said he is “eager to meet potential applicants to add to our team.” Most of the new hires will be on the job by May to get the store ready for its grand opening, the company said.

No firm date was given for the supercenter’s opening, which is expected to take place this summer. And no date was available for the closure of the Buena Vista Road location — a smaller discount store format without full-line groceries — that was constructed in 1989. A public relations representative for Wal-Mart said typically a closure of one store for a relocation to another area is simultaneous to minimize impact on customers.

Wal-Mart noted in particular that it is willing to hire U.S. military veterans honorably discharged from active duty since the Memorial Day 2013 launch of the program, “Veterans Welcome Home Commitment.” Amid a downsizing military, the retailer said it has added more than 100,000 veterans to its ranks over that time.

The supercenter’s progress comes with Wal-Mart closing in on the opening of a 41,000-square-foot Neighborhood Market — a full-line grocery store without most of the dry goods sold at supercenters — at 4909 Buena Vista Road. That site is two-tenths of a mile from the Wal-Mart discount store that will be shuttering its doors.

The retailer said the Buena Vista Road supermarket will open this spring. It had previously said specifically that it will debut in April. On Wednesday, the company said shelves are now being stocked.

The two Wal-Mart stores heading for grand openings will apparently finish the wave of new locations in the Columbus area. In January, two Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets opened on Manchester Expressway and Blackmon Road in Columbus and another market on U.S. Highway 80 in Phenix City.

There already is a heavy presence by Wal-Mart in the area. The retailer operates a supercenter and Sam's Club on Whittlesey Boulevard, and supercenters on Airport Thruway and Gateway Road, all in Columbus, along with a supercenter on U.S. Highway 280 in Phenix City.

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 6:03 PM with the headline "Wal-Mart now hiring for supercenter on Victory Drive."