Second Chicago WalMart Opens

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jul 27, 2011 6:20PM

WalMart's plan for up to two dozen new stores in Chicago took its first real step today with the opening of a new WalMart Express store in the Chatham Market on the South side.

This particular WalMart store is a 10,000 square-foot convenience store-sized location, offering groceries, dried goods and a pharmacy on premise. It's the first urban-based WalMart Express location in the world, according to the Sun-times. If Walmart has its way, it won't be the last in Chicago. Plans are already underway to bring in smaller-sized WalMarts to the West Loop, River North, the Southwest side and let's not forget Lakeview.

This WalMart Express isn't going to be the only WalMart in Chatham. A bricklaying ceremony was held Monday for a WalMart supercenter next to the WalMart Express at 83rd and Stewart that opened today. 21st Ward Ald. Howard Brookins, for one, is happy WalMarts are coming to Chatham.

"It has been eight years. I never thought when I took on this fight that it would be so big, and it would be so long, and it would have so many implications."

Brookins envisions the Chatham WalMarts to be an economic engine for his ward