Wal-Mart opens third Neighborhood Market in city

Today is opening day for Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s James River Commons store, the third of four Neighborhood Markets planned in Springfield.

The Neighborhood Market, 545 W. El Camino Alto Drive, employs about 180 part- and full-time employees under the direction of store manager Tara Pike, a Kansas native who started her career with Wal-Mart in 2003, according to a news release.

“With our smaller format, our store is perfect for those on the go,” Pike said in the release of the store that sells a full line of groceries, including produce, frozen foods, meat and dairy products, and organic items.

The approximately $1.62 million Neighborhood Market operates in 41,171 square feet near Sam's Club and Academy Sports & Outdoors in James River Commons, a retail park co-developed by Springfield-based Ron Stenger Cos. and Columbia-based Kroenke Group, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

The 3536 W. Mount Vernon St. location, the fourth and final Neighborhood Market store Wal-Mart has current plans for in Springfield, has a scheduled opening date of Oct. 17. The roughly $1.6 million, 41,171-square-foot store also would employ about 180 and would be managed by Doug Moon, a Wal-Mart employee since 2000, according to the release.

In May, Wal-Mart opened Neighborhood Market stores at 3150 W. Republic Road and 1320 S. Glenstone Ave.

Publicly traded Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) employs roughly 2.2 million at 10,300 facilities in 27 countries. There are roughly 200 Neighborhood Market stores nationwide, the release said.

As of 8:36 a.m., the company's shares were trading at $73.76, compared to a 52-week range of $51.63 to $75.24.[[In-content Ad]]