Sarasota Walmart Neighborhood Market Opens Wednesday

Grocery shopping on the corner of North Tamiami Trail and Myrtle Street is set to return Wednesday.

The first Walmart in Sarasota city limits will open as a Walmart Neighborhood Market at 8 a.m. Wednesday, following a ribbon cutting ceremony at 7:30 a.m. The store replaces a former Winn-Dixie at 3500 N. Tamiami Trail.

“Welcome to the neighborhood,” said Sarasota Mayor Suzanne Atwell in a statement. “Walmart will be a game changer for North Sarasota and beyond by bringing a quality and much-needed product to a great community.”

The store is like a reversal of the Walmarts of old — instead of a large area full of clothing, surrounded by toys, electronics and bedding, it's mainly groceries with a pharmacy, health and beauty products, some pet food and supplies and hardware items, too.

Plus while a regular Walmart discount store is about 100,000 square feet and a Supercenter typically double that, this Market is 32,444 square feet. 

The first Neighborhood Market opened in 1998, and today there are approximately 200 Neighborhood Market stores nationwide, according to Walmart Stores Inc. 

The deli will feature a Grab-and-Go section with rotisserie chicken, fresh-baked pizza and standard deli sides. In addition to the fresh produce, bakery and deli items, the store will carry a full line of groceries, including frozen foods, meat and dairy products, and organic items. 

Customers can also print their own digital photos at the store. The store will be open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.

The store will offer Site-to-Store, a free service that allows customers to ship online orders from www.walmart.com free to any Walmart store for pickup. You can even order online and pay cash at the store through its Pay With Cash program.  

Approximately 90 part- and full-time jobs will be created with the new store opening.

The grand-opening celebration includes $5,500 in grants from Walmart and the Walmart Foundation to local community groups. Boys and Girls Club, Gocio Elementary School, route: {:controller=>"listings", :action=>"show", :id=>"gocio-elementary-school"} -->, and North Tamiami Trail Development will each receive $1,000. A $1,500 grant will be presented to