Staff at Burbank’s Walmart Supercenter gear up for store opening, slated for June 22
Employees at the soon-to-open Walmart Supercenter in Burbank train at the front registers to get ready for customers on Wednesday, June 8, 2016.
The recognizable façade and structure of the former Great Indoors store still remains adjacent to the Burbank Empire Center. However, subtle tweaks to the building’s exterior color and newly installed sliding doors hint at something new, yet familiar.
Nearly 400 employees — with about 80 of them living in Burbank — have been training and stocking up a new 143,000-square-foot Walmart Supercenter to make sure that the discount store is ready to open on June 22.
Walmart and city officials plan to gather in front of the store that day at about 7 a.m. to commemorate the opening of the discount retailer’s newest facility.
“We took possession of the building on May 16 and, for the last three and a half weeks, we’ve been getting the merchandise out and training associates on customer service and specialty areas,” said Panthi Patel, manager of the new store.
Cake decorator Deleyna Flores and product manager Rueben Estrada help stock shelves ahead of the Burbank Walmart Supercenter’s grand opening.
Tom Flavin, chief executive of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce, said he’s excited to work with the mega-retailer.
“I’ve worked with Walmart in other communities, and they’re good corporate citizens,” he said. “They’re good for the sales-tax base and they create jobs for different walks of life.”
Hundreds of employees were busy one Wednesday morning putting up signs in the online-order pickup area, stocking video games and movies and learning how to use the registers efficiently.
The Walmart Supercenter in Burbank is slated to open Wednesday, June 22, 2016.
“We’re about 75% to 80% stocked up,” Patel said. “We’re not going to have any produce or the fresh stuff until almost the day before.”
The new supercenter will be the first of its kind in the area. The closest store to those living in the east San Fernando Valley is in Panorama City. However, Burbank, Glendale and other surrounding cities did not have a Walmart close by.
There are a few features that the Burbank Walmart has that most stores in Southern California do not have yet. For example, large black signs with white lettering and pictures of each store section make it easy for customers to read and find items. The produce-and-bakery section mimics the feel of a farmers market. There is even a new display in the electronics section where customers can test out new devices.
“I think this community has been waiting for this store for quite some time,” Patel said. “I’m excited to be offering affordable prices to all the people that will be shopping here.”
The local Walmart was set to open in 2013, but a lawsuit between three residents and the city put the discount retailer’s plans to a halt. They claimed that construction of the new store should not start until street improvements were made to address additional traffic.
After several years in court, the Second District Court of Appeal sided with the retailer, saying that Burbank should not have barred Walmart from receiving building permits, but that the city needed to address the traffic issue.
In April, the Burbank City Council voted to adopt a supplemental impact report to the original environmental impact report that stated the traffic improvements did not need to be made currently.
--
Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com
Twitter: @acocarpio
--
ALSO:
Community still has time to weigh in on Hollywood Burbank Airport’s proposed terminal project
Burbank school district looking for ways to improve program for intellectually gifted students
Passersby learn how to save someone’s life at Burbank sidewalk CPR event
