Norwalk Walmart Mostly Empty As Store Prepares To Close Nov. 3
NORWALK, CT — For years, the Walmart store at 680 Connecticut Avenue in Norwalk has offered customers a wide selection of merchandise at affordable prices, including groceries, clothing, furniture, toys and electronics.
On Tuesday, the store’s remaining inventory could be fit in one small section of shelves, with most items offered at a 90 percent discounted price as the store prepares to close its doors for good Friday.
In August, Walmart announced the Connecticut Avenue store, one of two locations in Norwalk, would close for good Nov. 3, including its pharmacy. Walmart will continue to operate its store at 650 Main Avenue in Norwalk, near the Wilton border.
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After offering massive sales in the lead up to Friday’s closing date, the building was mostly empty Tuesday, with every section of the store aside from the shelves of remaining items closed off to the public with caution tape.
One customer leaving the store Tuesday afternoon could be heard saying he felt bad for anyone who lost their jobs due to the large store’s closure.
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Felicia McCranie, a spokesperson for Walmart, told Patch in August the “difficult decision” to close the store was made after the location’s landlord decided not to renew the store’s lease.
“We are grateful to the customers who have given us the privilege of serving them at our Connecticut Avenue location,” McCranie said in a statement sent to Patch. “We look forward to serving them at our Main Avenue Supercenter and other stores in the surrounding communities and [online].”
McCranie said the company hoped most of the Connecticut Avenue location’s 255 employees would continue working for Walmart by transferring to one of their half a dozen nearby stores. She also said the company planned to help identify transfer opportunities for employees and assist them through the process.
All associates will be paid through Dec. 1 unless they transfer to another location. After that date, any eligible associates who do not transfer to another store will receive severance, according to McCranie.
The company operates a total of 33 Walmart and Sam’s Club stores in Connecticut, and McCranie noted they remain committed to the state.
Earlier this year, plans to convert the Connecticut Avenue store into the city’s first Target were submitted to the Planning and Zoning Department. At that time, Bryan Baker, the city’s principal planner, emphasized the plans were still in very early stages of an approval process.
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In August, Norwalk spokesperson Michelle Woods Matthews said Target’s permitting team had made the city aware they were in the process of submitting their construction plans for their zoning and building permits and had been in touch with the Planning and Zoning Department regarding signage.
Patch has reached out to the city regarding any updates to the planned Target project.
Mayor Harry Rilling said in an earlier statement he was sad to see any Walmart employees lose their jobs as a result of the closing, however the city’s Business, Development and Tourism Department would work diligently with Target to try and connect those who may experience job loss from the store’s closure with new employment opportunities at the planned Target.
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