Walmart Opens Third Bay-Area Neighborhood Market

PLEASANTON — After years of planning and a delayed approval by the City Council, Walmart's Neighborhood Market opened Wednesday July 17th to excited shoppers and a small, but vocal, group of detractors who held their own welcoming ceremony.

The 33,160-square-foot full-service supermarket — in the former Nob Hill Foods building on Santa Rita Road near Las Positas Boulevard — is Walmart's third in the Bay Area. It joins others in San Jose and San Ramon. About 70 would-be shoppers lined up early, waiting patiently for the doors to open at 7:30 a.m. They joined a crowd of workers and local dignitaries inside for a ribbon-cutting ceremony that included representatives of the City Council, the chamber of commerce, Police Chief Dave Spiller and Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Chief Jim Miguel.

According to Walmart, the company hired 85 employees to man the store, which will provide an anchor for the Meadow Plaza shopping center and an affordable grocery option for local residents.

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