NORWALK — On Friday, Nov. 3, the Norwalk Walmart on Route 1 will permanently close.
As the clock approaches, shoppers are eagerly clearing store shelves to take advantage of closing sales. As posted at the entrance, Walmart is offering his 75% off at this store while supplies last.
Many aisles were already empty Tuesday morning as customers filled carts with leftover items.
As of Tuesday, Walmart was selling limited clothing and shoe sizes. Most of the grocery aisles were clean, with the exception of a few shelves that held nonperishable and packaged foods. Customers lined up in the appliance aisle to purchase the remaining inventory. Large quantities of sporting goods, books, toys, and home improvement supplies were still in stock.
With supplies already limited, customers filled parking lots and formed long lines for bargains.
In late August, Walmart announced that the store’s lease was up and it was closing soon, much to the dismay of many customers in Norwalk.
“We are grateful to our customers for the privilege of serving us at our Connecticut Avenue store,” Walmart spokeswoman Felicia McCraney said in an email to CT Insider. “We look forward to offering it at Main Avenue Supercenter and other stores in the surrounding area, as well as on walmart.com,” she said.
Immediately after announcing the closure, Walmart limited store hours to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and closed its service desk.
A sign is posted on the door that says, “Service desk is closed. Money center transactions are not allowed.”
The Walmart pharmacy will also close on Nov. 3 and all prescriptions will be moved to another Walmart in Norwalk at 650 Main Avenue.
Walmart offered jobs to all 255 employees at other locations, including a store on Main Avenue in Norwalk and a Walmart in Stratford. Employees may choose to relocate, while others may choose not to relocate.
Norwalk is the only municipality in Connecticut with two Walmart stores, but nearby communities such as Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan, and Darien do not have a Walmart store, and residents of those towns are forced to shop at 680 Connecticut Avenue. I often drive to the store.
Plans for Target to take over the Walmart store at 680 Connecticut Avenue were announced in April, but there has been no further action since April 27th. The closest Target store to Norwalk is in Stamford.
“Mayor (Harry) Rilling said he was saddened to see Walmart employees lose their jobs, and our city’s Department of Business, Development and Tourism is working diligently with new local targets to ensure that Walmart’s impact “We will try to connect people who may have lost their jobs at the Walmart at 680 Connecticut Ave. with new job opportunities at Target,” said Michelle Woods, communications director in Norwalk. Matthews said.
Representatives for Walmart had not responded to inquiries as of press time, and Walmart managers declined to comment to The Hour.