MOSCOW - If the nearly full parking lot was any indication, Moscow
couldn't wait to get its Walmart back.
Hundreds of eager shoppers flooded into the remodeled store for its
grand reopening Wednesday, and were able to pluck discounted
products from its expanded departments and all-new grocery
offerings.
"It's a really nice store," said Ginger Clem of Troy,
who was casually pushing a shopping cart through the widened aisles
with her husband Dennis. "They put back our material and craft
stuff all the older people wanted."
Clem said she was disappointed after the old Moscow Walmart closed
in 2010, and a new Walmart in Pullman opened without large bolts of
fabric she needs for her sewing projects. But now she is happy, as
is husband Dennis.
"I'm just glad they reopened it," he said of the new
118,000-square-foot store at 2470 W. Pullman Road. "It's
handy, and I like doing business in Idaho."
Dennis Clem said he's pleased the sales tax added to his
Walmart tab will now stay in Latah County.
Local officials are also supportive of the new store, said manager
Helena Probasco.
Moscow councilors showed up for the 8 a.m. ribbon cutting, as did
representatives from the
local chamber of commerce.
"We've had nothing but a really good reception from
everybody," Probasco said.
That wasn't the case in 2005, when Walmart proposed building a
204,000-square-foot super center southeast of the intersection of
State Highway 8 and Mountain View Road. That design included a tire
and lube center, plus a 10-pump gas station.
A previous city council quickly moved to block the development by
passing an emergency "big box" ordinance that required
conditional-use permits for buildings larger than 40,000 square
feet.
A subsequent council modified that ordinance, however, when the
Pullman Walmart opened and took hoards of Latah County shoppers
with it. The new ordinance allowed Walmart to expand the old Moscow
store by almost 30,000 square feet, rather than build a new super
center.
The cost of the remodel was about $5 million, according to Walmart.
The design and layout of the new store is consistent with new
Walmart construction. So are its energy-efficient features and
smaller size, Probasco said.
"With the Pullman Walmart being here, there wasn't the
need for as much space," she said.
Probasco said that to a certain degree, the store caters to the
thousands of college students who live in Moscow, especially in the
electronics, furniture and housewares departments.
"We have lots of good opening-price-point merchandise,"
she said.
The Moscow Walmart is working to be a good community partner,
Probasco added. One way is with regular donations to a Moscow food
bank of products nearing their expiration date, including items
from the bakery, dairy, produce and meat departments. The food is
frozen before it expires so it can be safely stored and donated,
she said.
The store also presented $15,000 in grants to local organizations
Wednesday morning. The Moscow Volunteer Fire Department received
$5,000, Moscow Parks and Recreation received $3,000, Backyard
Harvest, St. Vincent De Paul Society and Moscow Hope Center
received $2,000, and Trinity Moscow Food Pantry received $1,000.
The store is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It employs
about 220 people, including about 70 who transferred from other
Walmarts. They earn an average wage of approximately $11.90 per
hour, according to Walmart officials.
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Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com or (208) 883-0564.
