DECATUR -- Since the closing of the Decatur General Store several years ago, residents of this small community have had to drive to either Gravette, Gentry or Siloam Springs to purchase food and other household items that are essential to daily life. Soon that will all change and Decatur will have a new store in town.
Walmart announced May 19 the opening of a new Walmart Express at 154 E. Roller, the current location of the old Decatur General Store building. Walmart plans to demolish the old structures on the site and replace them with a new 12,000-square-foot building.
The Walmart Express facility will feature a full grocery department, a bakery and deli, a pharmacy offering $4 generic prescriptions, a health and beauty supplies section, a selection of household items and a gas station. No longer will Decatur residents have to drive 10 miles or more to shop.
"Decatur customers tell us they want convenience and we are bringing it to them," Brian Hooper, Walmart vice president for real estate, said. "The Decatur Walmart Express store will provide that quick and easy way to access fresh food and household essentials at our everyday low prices."
Walmart will also offer Decatur customers access to online items through their Site to Store service, allowing residents to order hundreds of thousands of items via Walmart.com that will be delivered free to the Decatur Walmart Express store.
The Decatur Walmart Express will bring 30 new jobs to the community, generating additional tax revenues while stimulating economic growth and encouraging other businesses to choose Decatur as their new home.
"We are excited to welcome Walmart Express to Decatur," Mayor Charles Linam stated. "Decatur is proud to be part of the growing Northwest Arkansas community, and we are pleased to have another business choose our community to call home."
"Walmart employs more than 48,901 people at its 107 Arkansas locations and the average wage for regular, full-time hourly associates in Arkansas is $12.16 an hour," Erica Jones, reporter for walmartstores.com, stated in a press release May 19. "Additionally, Walmart spent more than $11.5 billion for merchandise and services with suppliers in Arkansas last year alone. As a result of those relationships, the company supports an additional 52,107 suppliers jobs in the state."
The new Decatur Walmart Express is scheduled to open in the winter of 2015.
For more information about the services Walmart offers, go to facebook.com/walmart or twitter.com/walmart.
General News on 05/21/2014