LAYTON -- Wal-Mart will celebrate the introduction of its Neighborhood Market concept to Davis County Wednesday morning with the opening of its latest location at 1356 East Highway 193.
The festivities will get under way at 7:30 a.m. and feature the national anthem performed by the Layton High School choir and the presentation of the colors by American Legion Post #87.
Layton City Mayor Jerry Stevenson will speak at the morning ceremony, which also includes the announcement of community grants and introduction of store managers.
Open 24 hours a day, encompassing nearly 40,747 square feet of retail space and employing approximately 85 persons, the Neighborhood Market combines a full line of grocery products, pharmaceuticals and general merchandise.
Neighborhood Markets also feature a section called the Grab-N-Go bar, located just inside the front doors. This service allows customers to grab a doughnut, pastry, coffee or fountain drink and drop their money in the honor-system box. There's no standing in line or checking out.
Neighborhood Markets are about the size of small Wal-Mart discount stores, yet they feature a wide variety of products, including: fresh produce, deli counters, fresh meats and dairy items, health and beauty aids, cosmetics, drive-through pharmacies, pet products and household chemicals.
The Layton Neighborhood Market will also have a half-hour photo-processing lab, drive-through pharmacy, a tortilla maker, America First Credit Union and six self-checkout lanes.
For the grand opening, Wal-Mart associates will contribute more than $13,500 to local non-profit organizations through Wal-Mart's Good Works community involvement program. Last year, Wal-Mart contributed $1.6 million to Utah community organizations.
A partial listing of Layton area organizations receiving grand opening contributions includes: United Way of Davis County, Affordable Land Lease Homes, City of Layton Fire Department; City of Layton Police Department, Davis Behavioral Health Inc. and American Legion Post #87 Layton.
The Layton Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market association team will be led by store manager Craig A. Allred.
Wal-Mart operates 19 Supercenters, six Wal-Mart discount stores and seven Sam's Clubs in Utah and employs more than 12,500 associates in the state.
Since it opened its first Utah store in 1990, Wal-Mart has injected millions of dollars into Utah's economy as the company builds new stores and expands employment. In the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2002, Wal-Mart collected and paid $72 million in sales taxes and $7.9 million in state local taxes.