Liberty awaits impact of new Wal-Mart

By Don Shilling

The township administrator predicts the store will transform Belmont Avenue.

LIBERTY — Love it or hate it, the new Wal-Mart Supercenter here opens Aug. 19, and people on both sides agree Liberty will never be the same.

“This is the best thing that’s happened here,” said Madeline Romeo, 62, of Liberty, who’s looking forward to saving money on paper towels, cleaning supplies and food.

Pat Ungaro, the township administrator who’s been working for years to bring Wal-Mart to the Liberty Plaza, said competition will help shoppers, but retailers also will benefit from the additional traffic the new store will bring.

“The development will be incredible. We probably won’t recognize Belmont Avenue in two years,” he said.

Not everyone is predicting great things for the area, however.

Sandy Zander, who owns Union Square Sparkle at Belmont and Gypsy Lane, said many jobs will be lost from small retailers who can’t offer the same prices as the nation’s largest retailer. As a Supercenter, the new store will offer a full line of groceries.

“Stores close around them, and not just supermarkets,” he said.

He predicted stores in Girard and Hubbard will struggle, in addition to those in Liberty, as customers come to Wal-Mart instead of hometown retailers.

“How many are going to survive? I don’t know. Am I going to try very hard? Yes,” said Zander, who also owns Cochran’s Sparkle Market on South Avenue in Boardman.

Zander said he thinks his Youngstown store can survive by offering service to customers and relying on loyalty that’s been built up through years of community involvement and charitable donations.

Henry Nemenz, who operates a Save-A-Lot grocery store next to Wal-Mart, also thinks that grocery stores that aren’t in the plaza will suffer from Wal-Mart’s presence.

On the other hand, he thinks his store will gain customers because of the added traffic in the plaza, so he has upgraded the interior and exterior of the Save-A-Lot.

“We’re getting ready to take care of some of their customers,” he said.

Not all retailers, however, share the concerns of Zander and Nemenz.

Patti Syphard, manager of Designer Furniture Warehouse in the Liberty Plaza, said her store recently installed new carpet and put a fresh coat of paint on the interior in anticipation of extra business once Wal-Mart opens.

“I definitely anticipate an increase in sales,” she said.

The area already is looking better, she said. The plaza’s parking lot has been repaved, and the sidewalk has been cleaned. Fast-food restaurants at the front of the plaza have renovated their exteriors.

“I believe if you go down the street, you’ll see the same thing happening,” she said.

That’s the case at Charley’s Grilled Subs, 3219 Belmont Ave. Chris Smallwood of Liberty, a former Chrysler engineer in Twinsburg, bought an abandoned building and opened his restaurant last year.

“Wal-Mart was one of the most important factors in choosing this location,” he said.

Business has been slower than he expected so far, but he’s expecting a big jump in demand once the Wal-Mart opens. His restaurant sells freshly cooked Philly cheesesteaks and homemade milkshakes.

Ungaro said Charley’s is one of several businesses that have upgraded Belmont Avenue by moving into abandoned buildings.

Little Jimmy’s Italian Food Specialties has moved into a former Ponderosa restaurant that was vacant for 10 years, and Aaron’s is building a new rent-to-own store at the site of the former Boatyard restaurant.

In addition, developers who build stores for large national retailers have been calling since Wal-Mart announced it was coming to Liberty, Ungaro said. Some projects have been delayed by the recession, but he thinks more retailers are coming.

He said the northern end of the township also will develop because water and sewer lines have been extended in that direction along Belmont.

“Wal-Mart is going to change the face of Belmont Avenue,” he said.

Thomas Urena, the Wal-Mart store manager, said he’s preparing to have 350 workers ready for opening day, including 35 who have transferred from other stores. About half the employees are full time.

“I think we’re going to be a busy store. I think the community is looking forward to it,” he said.

At 157,000 square feet, the new store is smaller than some other Supercenters in the region, he said. Stores in Austintown and Canton, for example, have 200,000 square feet.

The Liberty store also will have a few different features different from other Supercenters, he said.

The new store will have no displays in the aisles because they impede shoppers on busy days, he said. This is a new concept being tested at the Liberty store and the Salem store, which is being remodeled, he said.

The pharmacy of the Liberty store is located toward the rear of the store, near the sales of consumer items. In older Wal-Marts, the pharmacies are located up front but off to the side.

Also, the new store was designed to be more energy-efficient, Urena said. It has many skylights and is designed to use less electric light during the day. The roof was engineered to reflect heat in the summer but store it in the winter, and the floor is made of recycled concrete, he said.

Inside, shoppers will notice an expanded electronics area, he added.

shilling@vindy.com