WHITEHALL, Mich. (WOOD) — It’s been six months since a Walmart opened in the small town of Whitehall, north of Muskegon.
There was opposition to the retail goliath coming to the town of 2,700 and those who welcomed it with open arms.
As for the smaller grocery store less than a mile away, this rosy prediction: “It’s not a concern. We have to be aware of it,” said then Plumb’s/Great Lakes Store Director Tony Larson. “We welcome them to the community.”
Last month, the store closed and a couple of the 36 employed there remain to clean up.
Now, next door neighbor Shopko is liquidating its inventory, a process that will last through mid-January, according to a company spokesperson.
“I shop at Plumb’s all the time and Shopko once in a while, said Whitehall resident Wayne Thuma “It’s a shame, ya know, a lot of people knew this was gonna happen when Walmart come in and this is just the beginning, two stores right here and who knows what else, ya know?”
Asked if he is shopping there, Thuma answers: “Nah, I haven’t been there yet – I won’t go to that one at all.”
“We have small towns and there should be the small town stores,” he said.
Citywide, the impact of Walmart is being felt.
“I have heard from some downtown businesses that have had a direct financial negative impact,” said Scott Huebler, Whitehall city manager.
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