# The colussus wakes ere long, Or: We're getting a Wal-Mart **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 26, 2004, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860 "2004-07-26T00:06:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SteelWolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c6cbf5/32.png) [@SteelWolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteelWolf)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860/1 "2004-07-26T00:06:53Z")
So, they’ve been putting up a huge building in the once weed-choked lot behind my office. Last week they started tearing up the street to put in new sewer lines. Yep, my town is getting a Wal-Mart. At the rate it’s going up, it should be finished off by September. We’re told the grand opening will be next January. The city council was all but drooling when they heard the news. They went so far as to swap land with a local bank owner to ease the path of the mega-retailer. Now the electrical box for my office is on land owned by a competitor. This is fairly small town, about 8,000 when college is in session, and no more than 12,000 in the entire county. Currently the closest Wal-Mart is 45 miles away. Have any other 'Dopers been visited recently by the Supercenter Fairy for good or ill? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Roboto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@Mr.Roboto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Roboto)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860/2 "2004-07-26T02:25:56Z")
Wally Mart Rules… everything from underwear to pressurized cheese. School supplies up the Ying-Yang. Mega cans of Yuban for $5,my store $10,Creamer,Motor oil,Fishing Lures,batteries,paint… Mens dept. always has a sale rack w/cool stuff… Go in, relax,fill you cart for less than a C-note! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860/3 "2004-07-26T02:36:13Z")
Welcome to hell. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860/4 "2004-07-26T02:59:08Z")
Sam’s Choice bottled water is great. So is the Great Value peanutbutter, potted meat, and bologna. The Great Value bread is usually dry. The Equate medicine is great too. So are the Equate ‘wet-wipes’ and shaving gel. The store brand of dishwashing soap is great stuff too. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860/5 "2004-07-26T03:05:12Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Welcome to hell. We just got one about a mile from my house. I can smell the sulfur and brimstone from here. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860/6 "2004-07-26T04:48:13Z")
“Pressurized cheese”? I’m afraid to ask… ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860/7 "2004-07-26T04:57:46Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > “Pressurized cheese”? I’m afraid to ask… Y’all don’t have Spray Cheese?!?! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860/8 "2004-07-26T05:07:35Z")
We might have it here… it’s just something that it never would have occurned to me to ask for. I mean, it sounds like a parody or something… one might as well ask for mousetraps to catch cars or for fur-lined underwear. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860/9 "2004-07-26T11:02:40Z")
We just had a new Supercenter open last week. I love it. One stop shopping, pretty store, and sample ladies. Bliss. Yeah, true, Kroger’s is going to die within a year now but I’m not shedding any tears. They’re overpriced and once WM starts bending them over, they’ll refuse to compete. Tough noogies for them. ---
**Author:** ![SteelWolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c6cbf5/32.png) [@SteelWolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteelWolf)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860/10 "2004-07-26T13:44:18Z")
Currently, the building’s painted an ugly, ugly color of primer that reminds me of… sulfur. As if I needed another reason to not shop there, it turns out that Wal-Mart supports [GWB](http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2004/07/25/rivalry_between_wal_mart_costco_also_extends_to_national_politics/). Unfortunately, the nearest Costco is over an hour’s drive away. Now, when I get a nice diesel Jetta or Beetle, and I can stop spending $40 each time I fill up the truck… ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860/11 "2004-07-26T14:07:34Z")
> [@Abbie Carmichael](#): > > We just had a new Supercenter open last week. I love it. One stop shopping, pretty store, and sample ladies. Bliss. > > Yeah, true, Kroger’s is going to die within a year now but I’m not shedding any tears. They’re overpriced and once WM starts bending them over, they’ll refuse to compete. Tough noogies for them. Please link to this thread in a year when you’re posting your Pit thread about the lack of available checkout lines and the insane customers. 🙂 There’s an Albertson’s and a Tom Thumb on opposite corners from my nearest Supercenter, and they’re still in business. If they didn’t use their stupid “saver cards,” I’d still be shopping with them, higher prices be damned. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860/12 "2004-07-26T17:40:17Z")
Ours just had its walls torn out and was expanded into a super Mall\*Wart or something like that. Yay our local economy is half dead, the only jobs are in factory work, I havn’t seen a new business in months, but I can still buy duct tape at $2.54 a roll. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860/13 "2004-07-26T18:06:23Z")
> [@Machetero](#): > > Sam’s Choice bottled water is great. So is the Great Value peanutbutter, potted meat, and bologna. The Great Value bread is usually dry. > > The Equate medicine is great too. So are the Equate ‘wet-wipes’ and shaving gel. > > The store brand of dishwashing soap is great stuff too. I hate to admit it, but I’ve noticed this as well. WalMart’s store brands rock. Their Prima Della deli meat is near about as good as Boar’s Head. Their cookies are yum-numiny. Their smoked salmon is yummy. ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860/14 "2004-07-27T00:28:27Z")
The donuts in their bakery section whomp ass, too. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860/15 "2004-07-27T02:45:42Z")
And they treat their workforce so fairly! ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860/16 "2004-07-27T03:21:29Z")
\ \ Yay! The nearest one to me is still twelve miles, in another state, and across the NJ turnpike, and the mighty mighty Hudson! And I don’t have a car anyway! Think I’m safe for a while longer. Although we did get a Target in the Bronx in Marble Hill, right by the Harlem River. Hmmmm… ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Love\_Coffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/278dde/32.png) [@Me\_Love\_Coffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Love_Coffee)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860/17 "2004-07-27T04:57:55Z")
I like Wal-Mart because you can go and get anything you need in one stop (and the one by me is open 24 hours). Only at times it seems a little dirty… which is why I prefer Target. Wal-Mart is usually cheaper though… and cheap is good. ---
**Author:** ![modro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@modro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/modro)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860/18 "2004-07-27T10:32:15Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I hate to admit it, but I’ve noticed this as well. WalMart’s store brands rock. Their Prima Della deli meat is near about as good as Boar’s Head. Their cookies are yum-numiny. Their smoked salmon is yummy. This can be easily explained. As we are so often told, the Wal-Mart store brand stuff rolls off the same lines as the name brand stuff. For instance, Great Value light bulbs come in boxes marked with the GE logo. It’s the same stuff, just repackaged. -Modro Wal-Mart Employee\* (err… associate?) [sup]Og save me[/sup] ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860/19 "2004-07-27T15:15:14Z")
I live in Walville. Go to either one of these sites and search on St. Petersburg, FL. [http://www.walmart.com/cservice/ca\_storefinder.gsp](http://www.walmart.com/cservice/ca_storefinder.gsp) [http://www.walgreens.com/storelocator/cgi-bin/mqlocator?link=find&store=locator&nav=0](http://www.walgreens.com/storelocator/cgi-bin/mqlocator?link=find&store=locator&nav=0) (If you really want to have fun, set the Walgreens area to 25 miles.) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860/20 "2004-07-27T15:20:40Z")
Wow, **ccwaterback** … are you underserved? 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colussus-wakes-ere-long-or-were-getting-a-wal-mart/256860.md?page=2)