Wal-Mart workers say goodbye to old store, hello to new home on Victory Drive
Kathleen Zarley, pausing a moment Monday at the new Wal-Mart Supercenter on Victory Drive, put in perspective the relocation from the older and smaller Buena Vista Road discount store to the shiny new one that will open for business Wednesday morning.
“I’ve been here since we opened the first store 26 years ago,” she said. “We were very comfortable there. It’s bittersweet in a way. But it’s nice to get into something new and clean and fixtures that are all great, and the store looks wonderful. It’s just so efficient over here.”
Zarley, who works in the home products area at Wal-Mart, struck a theme among many of the staffers who have had long careers with the mega-retailer. They enjoyed their old dwelling on Buena Vista Road — with Tuesday its final day — but are more than ready for a bit of elbow room and the excitement that comes from building a new home from scratch.
“It’s kind of special to me. I got the privilege of saying I opened up two Wal-Marts. I opened up the last one from day one and opened up this one,” said Bernard Baker, a team supervisor who is preparing to retire soon. “You can’t beat the facilities here at the new store.”
The 159,357-square-foot supercenter at 3515 Victory Drive, which employs about 300, has been more than two years coming. Store manager Quacheryl Pugh had overseen the 4701 Buena Vista Road location for more than two years. Having worked at 11 Wal-Mart stores in her 18-year career, this is a special milestone for her.
“It’s like a brand new house, and I say that because we built it from dirt to the building now. So I was able to see the whole process,” she said. “This has been the most excitement that I’ve had in a long time. I’m proud of this store.”
On Monday, the supercenter was pretty much stocked and ready for customers, with the exception of fresh fruit and vegetables that were being placed in cases in the produce area. The bakery and deli departments also were being set up.
The grand opening is 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. It will include the presentation of $3,500 in grants to various groups, including Girls Inc. and the National Infantry Museum. Separate “welcome” events that include free food samples and family activities are scheduled 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and noon-4 p.m. Sunday.
The 24-hour supercenter is typical in that it includes a pharmacy, vision center, money center and gas station. But it also has a “scan and go” area in which items can be purchased and paid for online, then picked up quickly at the store for no additional fee, Pugh said. Navy Federal Credit Union also will have a location on site to complement its Columbus Park Crossing office.
“As you can see, the big happy smiley face is coming back because Wal-Mart has invested in thousands of rollbacks,” Pugh said. “What that means is we won’t be ad-matching anymore, but Wal-Mart has lowered the prices on over 4,000 prices in the store. We should be lower than any competitor out there.”
The new store was built on property that formerly was home to Baker High School, with the Lions faithful calling the site home from 1943 to 1991. A marker commemorating the school’s history was at the corner of Victory and Benning drives until construction started. Pugh said the contractor will be putting the sign up again, although she does not know the timeline.
“We’ll actually make sure it’s somewhere visible so people can see it, possibly out closer to the road,” she said.
The marker, wherever it is placed, will have plenty of traffic passing it, with Georgia Department of Transportation figures showing nearly 40,000 vehicles moving through that area on any given day. That includes commercial and vacation travelers driving through the city.
This story was originally published June 20, 2016 at 5:43 PM with the headline "Wal-Mart workers say goodbye to old store, hello to new home on Victory Drive."