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Uploaded: Monday, September 17, 2012, 3:44 PM
Walmart grand opening scheduled for Wednesday
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by Jessica Lipsky
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 | San Ramon residents will soon have a new grocery store to frequent, despite protests of a few neighbors and anti-retailer advocates.
The Bay Area's first Walmart Neighborhood Market will officially open on Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 9100 Alcosta Boulevard (inside the Country Club Village Center). The store is located in the building that once housed Le Asia Supermarket and will sell fresh produce as well as groceries.
"We are pleased to serve the City of San Ramon by being an involved partner, and offering a convenient, affordable, grocery store option for the community," said store manager Baltazar Garcia. "This is truly going to be their Neighborhood Market, and it's exciting."
Walmart first opened its Neighborhood Markets in 1998 and now operates approximately 200 stores across the country. The 50,000 square foot store will be open 24 hours day, 365 days a year and will feature self service deli and bakery, a full line of groceries, pharmacy and household items. The store will also offer a large number of Hispanic items.
"We welcome Walmart to San Ramon and are pleased that the Neighborhood Market will occupy the vacant anchor space in the Country Club Village Center," said Stewart Bambino, president of the San Ramon Chamber of Commerce. "We look forward to working closely with Walmart to enhance our community."
Since the opening of the new store was announced in February, a handful of residents have expressed concerns about traffic as the result of additional signage and deliveries, noise and the loss of small businesses. Many complained about an alleged lack of transparency by city officials who said they didn't know a Walmart store would occupy the lot.
"We are upset because first of all we don't like Walmart because they don't treat their employees fairly, they've got a horrible reputation for treating the environment badly and they know what a bad reputation they have," a neighborhood resident and member of the group San Ramon for Smart Growth told the Express earlier this year. "I'd rather see that site empty. I'd like to see Trader Joes in there or something that had a more healthy bend to it."
The grand opening ceremony will begin at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday and will feature grant presentations to local organizations "that serve the community and impact causes Walmart customers care about." The new store is expected to create 85 new jobs in San Ramon. Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by Steady Red, a resident of the San Ramon neighborhood, on Sep 18, 2012 at 3:24 pm All the anti-Wal Mart whiners can go shop someplace else and keep their whining to themselves. This is America, where were are supposed to support the free market.
All of these small-growth hippies can now drive their cars further to their "green" grocery stores. Glad I don't have to smell your unbathed stench as I roam the aisles at my new neighborhood grocery store.
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Posted by Kris, a resident of the San Ramon neighborhood, on Sep 19, 2012 at 9:07 am I AGREE Steady! The lib pinkos LOVE to dictate to others. Shut up---go protest somewhere. I wasn't going to shop the new store but will definitely do so now to exercise my FREE choice. Lib definition? Reaching into YOUR pocket to "help" others.
Shop WalMart!!!
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Posted by Dickita P, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood, on Sep 19, 2012 at 11:42 am Dearest actual, un-ironic users of the word "pinko" (is it 1956 already? You're kidding? I could have sworn we were still fighting in Korea just yesterday!),
If you love WalMart and their labor law-violating, billion dollar government subsidy-receiving version of capitalism so much, maybe instead of merely shopping there to express your freedom (and oh, what a glorious, meaningful definition of freedom that is!) you should try working for them? Or try to maintain a neighboring business?
Did you know that the "pinkos" (sorry, still can't believe you seriously said that word!) have to reach in YOUR pocket to get taxes to help pay the Medicaid bills of Wal-Mart employees, 1/2 of whom aren't insured by their behemoth employer?
Hmm... So, it would seem that your financial support of Wal-Mart would only increase the reach of the libby-dibby TaxMan... Hmm..... Nope, I'm not going to think about it any further than that! Let's just attack people who aren't happy that a fairly vile multinational has moved into town!
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Posted by KPilk, a resident of the Danville neighborhood, on Sep 19, 2012 at 12:20 pm Yeah Steady Red! Anyone whose argument can be summarized as, "go away, you smell" is clearly of sound mind! You're on my team, ya big galoot!
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Posted by Marianne, a resident of the San Ramon neighborhood, on Sep 20, 2012 at 1:44 pm Employers once used line items such as health insurance as "perks." Perks were offered to reward and keep good employees- not something to be mandated. Why should a company be expected to reward employees who are not top notch? What else should become mandatory? Housing? Company schools? Music lessons?
A large and successful business is, well, someone's success story. "Sour grapes" regarding success is so pervasive; it gets wearisome.
Success is not celebrated. And the dream for bettering ourselves through OUR effort is transferred to a take away from someone else's effort.
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Posted by Citizen Paine, a resident of the Danville neighborhood, on Sep 20, 2012 at 9:10 pm @Marianne:
Companies started offering health insurance after WW2 -- most employers of any size offered it as a way to recruit good talent. By the '70s it was deeply woven into the fabric -- like pensions were then, as well.
Employers don't have to offer them, but since the early '70s a law called ERISA has mandated that If they Are offered, it has to be on a fairly even-handed basis. That's really not very controversial, or recent, and there are many other ways to incentivize the serfdom.
WalMart doesn't offer such benefits, but Costco does, which is part of why Wall Street hates Costco -- they could do so much better if only they would screw their employees! For its part, Costco sees it as a short-term vs. long-term thing -- they believe that they do better in the long run with a better-paid, more committed and longer-tenured workforce. Frankly, it shows, and I much prefer shopping there.
Don't you think it's surprising that there's nothing we buy where quality is more important than the food we feed our families -- and yet, we buy mainly on price, and treat it as if cheaper is always better? (It's not.)
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Posted by Beth, a resident of the San Ramon neighborhood, on Sep 21, 2012 at 6:01 am I am planning on checking it out today. The local Lucky store is easy to get around but often seems less than clean and their seafood department is scary. The Safeway in Blackhawk is a parking nightmare. My first choices are Costco and Trader Joes--but am glad to have another place for produce and brand name items I cannot get at TJs. Maybe having an alternative will make the local monopolies (Safeway and Lucky) be cleaner and more competitive price wise. That is how the American system works!
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