Bright and early Tuesday morning cheers and celebration marked the opening of the controversial Richmond Walmart on Campus.
Bright and early Tuesday morning cheers and celebration marked the opening of the controversial Richmond Walmart on Campus. The store, located at 912 Grace Street in a new multipurpose building owned by VCU, has been the subject of criticism since it was first announced last August.
“If you didn’t know, we are making history today,” Tanya Holmes, store manager, said. “This is the world’s largest campus store, and you have it here in Richmond, Virginia.”
Holmes pressed her, the corporation, and the associates’ dedication to the community, calling store 4502 “the Ram spark at VCU.” There are only five Walmart on Campus stores in the country.
“Your campus store is designed to make shopping quick and easy for the customers in the area and community who want to save money and find what they need close to school and home,” Holmes said.
The store offers a full service pharmacy featuring Walmart’s inexpensive generic prescriptions as well wide variety of household goods and food. Some students are excited to have wider options available to them.
“It will be nice to buy soap,” said Mikey Stough, a student who lives next door to the new location. The closest places to campus to buy household goods and mild groceries have been more traditional convenience stores like 7-11- those don’t offer some necessary goods. Even local businesses in the area offer limited options for household needs like soap.
“I think it’s amazing because they sell everything that I’ve bought in the past six months for half the price,” Anjali Nanjannavar, a student who stopped in the shop today, said. She thinks that small businesses won’t be able to keep up with the new chain.
“Small businesses make profits by up charging but now they’ll lose business to Walmart who can have lower prices and still make money,” Nanjannavar said. Nanjannavar said she hasn’t even noticed those protesting in opposition to the Walmart.
The lease agreement for the property between VCU and Walmart began a firestorm of criticism.
Organized protests were led by the 606 member “No Walmart on Grace Street!” Facebook group.
A petition from that group that called the Walmart “an unnecessary addition” and “devastating to the local economy” gained over 2,900 supporters out of an initial goal of 2,500.
“The fact that VCU is excited about a Walmart on this block shows how very unaware the school is of its impact on the face of our city,” the text of the petition read. “Many of us know that the low prices and convenience of a Walmart come with a high cost to the greater Richmond community.”
Despite meeting its goal, the petition did not see any traction.
During its opening ceremonies, the staff of the newly formed store presented two $500 grants to the charities Safe Harbor and the local chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Pastor Calvin Duncan, a VCU basketball hall of fame player, gave a brief prayer over the shop.
