Walmart Brings Jobs and Grocery Options to Chicago

Walmart Neighborhood Market brings more convenience, local fresh food favorites and employment opportunities to the community

  • New Walmart Neighborhood Market located 4720 S. Cottage Grove Ave.
  • Up to 95 jobs created by Chicago Walmart Neighborhood Market
  • Store open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week
  • Local Facebook page: www.facebook.com/walmart3166

CHICAGO, Oct. 8, 2014 – A new Walmart Neighborhood Market is opening Wednesday, Oct. 15, following a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony at 8 a.m. The new store is conveniently located at 4720 S. Cottage Grove Ave. and is open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. The store will provide Chicago residents with low prices on a broad assortment of merchandise and offer Walmart's free Site to Store program, enabling customers to choose from nearly a million additional online items that can be ordered on Walmart.com and picked up at the Chicago store for free, often as quickly as the same day. 

The new Chicago store is part of Walmart’s plan to open an additional 270 to 300 small-format locations this year. The first Walmart Neighborhood Market opened in 1998, and today there are approximately 300 Walmart Neighborhood Market stores nationwide.

The new store will provide local customers with a new, convenient option for their grocery shopping needs, including fresh produce and pharmacy services.

“We are excited to open the store and serve our customers,” said store manager Brenton Lithererland. “We look forward to meeting our customers and helping them save money and live better by providing them a convenient location to find all their grocery needs.”

Affordable Groceries to Meet Your Needs
The new store offers fresh produce and a full line of groceries from all the leading brand names, including organic and natural selections. There is also a wide variety of meat and bakery selections.

Smaller Store, More Convenience
The new store is approximately quarter the size of a Walmart Supercenter. In addition to groceries, the store features health and beauty aids, pet products and cleaning supplies. In addition, customers can shop a broader assortment of items online at Walmart.com and then pay for these purchases with cash in all of Walmart U.S. stores and Walmart Neighborhood Markets, including the new Chicago store.

The pharmacy offers a full range of products and services. Pharmacy team members can answer product and prescription questions and customers can ask about health and wellness solutions.  Chicago residents can easily transfer prescriptions and order refills on the go with the Walmart mobile app for iPhone and Android. 

New Store, New Jobs
The new store employs up to 95 full- and part-time associates. Store manager Litherland began his Walmart career in 1998 as an hourly cashier.

“As the anchor tenant of the Shops & Lofts at 47th development, we’re excited that Walmart has chosen to become the first national retailer to make its home on Cottage Grove,” said Alderman Will Burns (4th Ward). “This new store will not only create jobs and provide better access to fresh, affordable groceries, it will also spur economic development in the neighborhood, benefitting our entire community.”

Community Giving
The grand-opening celebration includes presentations of $6,000 in grants from Walmart to local community groups.

In addition to the grants given as part of the grand opening, the new store will further Walmart’s pledge to fight hunger in America. As part of Walmart’s and the Walmart Foundation’s $2 billion commitment to fight hunger through 2015, Walmart stores in Illinois donated approximately 18.2 million pounds of food, in fiscal year 2014, or the equivalent of 15.1 million meals. Additionally, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation gave more than $35.6 million in fiscal year 2014 in Illinois alone. For more information on Walmart’s fight against hunger, visit http://foundation.walmart.com/our-focus/hunger.

A Big Family Welcome
Walmart is happy to be part of the Chicago community and is ready to celebrate with residents on Saturday, Oct. 18.  A Big Family Welcome will give customers a chance to meet Litherland and enjoy fun family activities such as face painting, cupcake decorating and free food samples while supplies last. Join the celebration from noon to 3 p.m.  

About Walmart 
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better -- anytime and anywhere -- in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, more than 250 million customers and members visit our 11,053 stores under 71 banners in 27 countries and e-commerce websites in 11 countries. With fiscal year 2014 sales of over $473 billion, Walmart employs approximately 2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart.

FACT SHEET
Chicago Walmart Neighborhood Market

Store facts

  • Location: 4720 S. Cottage Grove Ave., Chicago
  • Size: Approximately 41,000 square feet
  • Store manager: Brenton Litherland
  • Hours: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week
  • Grand opening: Wednesday, Oct. 15, following a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony at 8 a.m.

Store features

  • Full line of groceries, including:
    • Fresh produce
    • Bakery
    • Self-serve deli
    • Prepared meal options
    • Organic/natural selections
  • Additional merchandise includes:
    • Health and beauty aids
    • Pet and cleaning products
    • Hardware and stationery
  • Convenience services include:
    • Pharmacy
    • Digital-photo processing center
    • MoneyCenter
    • Walmart Site-to-Store

Charitable giving

  • $6,000 in grants from Walmart will be presented to area organizations

Employment

  • Number of jobs created: Up to 95
  • Full- and part-time positions

Social

A Big Family Welcome

  • Saturday, Oct. 18, from noon to 3 p.m.

For more information

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