Hundreds
attend Super
Walmart opening
Hundreds gathered at the front of the
new Super Walmart in Lincolnton
Wednesday morning for the ribbon
cutting and grand opening. Photo by
Kirk Herbertson/TCS
By
Jon Mayhew
June 16, 2011 – City
and county leaders joined members of
the community and Walmart officials
Wednesday morning to open the newest
Super Walmart in Lincolnton.
Hundreds packed the front of the new
store at 306 North Generals Boulevard
around 7:30am for the grand
opening/ribbon cutting with the
Lincolnton/Lincoln County Chamber of
Commerce.
Store manager Steve Land said the
last time people gathered for a
ribbon cutting was in February 1989
when the original Walmart opened at
401 North Generals Boulevard.
Tuesday night, Land locked the doors
at the old location for the last
time.
“In five weeks time, we went
from an empty building to a Super
Walmart ready to open,” said
Land. “It was a very smooth
transition where the management and
associates made the transition
possible.”
The new 184,000-square-foot store
employs more than 400 people
according to Land. In building and
laying out the new store, Land said
Walmart officials wanted to go for
the “wow” factor.
Chamber of Commerce board chairman
Donna Barringer agreed with Land.
“The store does wow
everybody,” said Barringer.
“This is the largest grand
opening the Chamber has ever
held.”
County Commission chairman Alex
Patton said “it was an
incredible feat” to occupy the
new store in five weeks.
“Being in retail for 25 years,
there’s a lot of things that go
on behind the scenes that people
don’t know about,” said
Patton. “This is a beautiful
facility.”
The ceremony Wednesday morning kicked
off with the Lincolnton High School
color guard and the Star Spangled
Banner.
“What a great way to start a
grand opening,” said Lincolnton
Mayor John Gilleland. “We
congratulate you on your success and
being ahead of schedule.”
During the ceremony, several grant
checks were awarded to local agencies
from Walmart.
Christian Ministries received $2,000;
the Lincoln County Adopt-A-Cop,
Hospice of Lincoln County, the
Charles Jonas Library and the
Lincolnton High School Band Boosters
all received $1,000 each.
See
the video of store manager Steve Land
and more of Kirk Herbertson's photos
below.
