Wal-Mart Supercenter opens to throngs of shoppers
| Wednesday, Oct 28 2009 12:58 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Oct 28 2009 01:00 PM
The Wal-Mart Foundation awarded $28,000 in grants to local community organizations as part of Wednesday's Panama Lane store grand opening. The recipients were: Bakersfield Christmas Parade, Bakersfield Firefighters' Burn Foundation, Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, Bakersfield Police Activities League, Community Action Partnership of Kern, Golden Empire Gleaners, Greenfield Union School District, Kern County Sheriff's Mounted Search and Rescue and Kiwanis Foundation of South Bakersfield.
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Casey Christie / The Californian Wal-Mart employees cheer during the grand opening of the new Super Wal-Mart on Colony Street near Panama Lane and Highway 99, Wednesday morning.
Casey Christie / The Californian Customers wait in line Wednesday morning at the new Super Wal-Mart was holding its grand opening.
Casey Christie / The Californian New super Wal-Mart manager, Harry Fenske, center, rallies the troops, during their grand opening Wednesday on Colony Street, near Panama Lane and Highway 99.
Casey Christie / The Californian The new super Wal-Mart opened its doors, Wednesday morning on Colony Street, off Panama Lane, near Highway 99.
Casey Christie / The Californian The new Wal-Mart opened first thing Wednesday morning.
Casey Christie / The Californian The new super Wal-Mart on Colony Street, had a grand opening Wednesday. People were lined up outside before the doors opened.
Casey Christie / The Californian Customers head inside the new super Wal-Mart, Wednesday, on Colony Street, during their grand opening.
The parking lot was full and shoppers lined up early Wednesday to get a glimpse inside the city's first Wal-Mart Supercenter, which finally opened after a grueling six-year battle.
The Bakersfield City Council in 2003 approved construction of the supercenter at Panama Lane and Colony Street and another being built on Gosford Road, but the stores were held up by environmental studies and lawsuits amid concerns over the environmental impact of local development.
As a result, the city had to review modified plans and approve the stores a second time, with Wal-Mart promising to minimize its impact by reducing the amount of trash generated and using energy more efficiently.
Wednesday's grand opening was a long time coming, "but it's an excellent morning," said store manager Harry Fenske. "We're excited we finally got the building open. The whole community's excited. They've been waiting for this."
Fenske was among 360 employees transferred from the smaller White Lane Wal-Mart that the supercenter replaced.
Another 455 employees at the Panama Lane store are new hires.
The 218,145-square-foot store includes a full grocery store, bakery, deli, liquor department and pharmacy.
The 7:30 a.m. ribbon cutting ceremony featured a Highland High School choir and a bagpipe player, as well as an appearance by Mayor Harvey Hall, who called the store "a tremendous enhancement for our Bakersfield community."
Inside, there was a separate ceremony for Tri Counties Bank, which opened a new branch in the store and gave away gift cards as an incentive to open accounts. It is the Chico-based bank's second Bakersfield location.
"We have a branch on California Avenue that's mostly business banking, but we prefer to have our consumer banking branches inside Wal-Mart and other grocery stores because it's so convenient for the customer," said Tri Counties president and chief executive officer Richard Smith.
Throngs of people gathered before the opening and cheered when doors were unlocked by a small army of employees.
Some customers, such as Neil Messick, 51, came mainly out of curiosity.
"I have mixed emotions about it," he said. "I think it's about time we had this big of a store here. I also feel sorry for the smaller stores that have to compete."
Dawn Harmon, 44, said she wasn't the least bit ambiguous.
"They should have opened a lot sooner," she said. "The delay was all a bunch of political propaganda."
Harmon was among the first to enter the store, and came looking for deals among the grand opening specials.
So did Vera Garay, 56, who said she likes the model of offering groceries and general merchandise all under one roof.
"I shop at Wal-Mart a lot, anyway, so if I can pick up my groceries while I'm here, I can save myself a trip to the grocery store," she said. "I'm just checking it out, to see if I like the prices."
The Panama Lane store will be open 6 a.m. to midnight seven days a week.
Construction is complete on the Gosford Road store, which is scheduled to open some time next year.
