Will You Buy Groceries at Walmart Altadena?

A Walmart Neighborhood Market is set to at the intersection of Figueroa Dr. and Lincoln Ave, just a few miles from Sierra Madre. It would be the first Walmart of its kind in L.A. County, and stock mostly groceries.

The news has some Altadena residents livid and organizing protests, saying that the chain store will have a negative impact on smaller businesses.

However, with Sierra Madreans having to travel out of town to purchase many grocery items anyway, and Walmart’s reputation for low prices… will you welcome a Walmart Neighborhood Market so close by?

Here’s some more info on the store opening, as first :

• About 60-percent of what will be sold at the location will be food items.
• The store manager will make the calls on what specific food items to stock.
• Walmart chose the location because the information they had suggested it was underserved by grocery stores.
• They will likely be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• The store will likely open in January 2013
• At this point they will not be applying for a liquor permit.
• The store already has all environmental work done, and will not need any further permits to open.
• Walmart representatives told the Altadena Chamber of Commerce that the reason they had not revealed they were opening a location in Altadena sooner is that the lease was only signed about two weeks ago.
• Walmart is planning to open a job center in Altadena so locals can come to apply to work at the store.
• Walmart has committed to spending about $4-$6 million on opening at the store location.
• Walmart representatives said some of their workers make minimum wage while some make as much as $16 per hour.  The average store manager makes between $100,000 and $150,000.

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