VIRGINIA BEACH — It’s an alternative to Walmart’s super stores – the Walmart Neighborhood Store – and focuses on groceries and small items here and there.
But on March 29, Walmart’s Neighborhood Store at 2864 Virginia Beach Blvd., will close, company officials announced this week.
The location is in a shopping center and is adjacent to Hobby Lobby on Virginia Beach Boulevard.
Phillip Keene, a Walmart spokesman, said many factors were considered in the decision, mainly the location’s financial performance.
Keene said Walmart is not giving up on the idea of smaller stores.
Walmart also announced the closing of four other stores — Walmart Neighborhood Markets in North Chesterfield and Columbia, S.C.; a Walmart Supercenter in Lafayette, La.; and one of its original-format discount stores in Knoxville, Tenn.
Keene said Walmart leases the Virginia Beach Boulevard space, about 40,000 square feet.
That store has about 75 employees. Keene said the company hopes to transfer as many of those employees to other stores in the region – all of the employees will be paid through May 10, unless they’re transferred earlier.
Walmart operates about 150 stores in Virginia.
