Henderson Walmart Supercenter celebrates remodeling and enhancements

Chuck Stinnett
·4 min read
Associates at the Walmart Supercenter pose with the company mascot Spark (at left center) following a celebration Friday of the completion of a $6 million remodeling of the 203,000-square-foot store.
Associates at the Walmart Supercenter pose with the company mascot Spark (at left center) following a celebration Friday of the completion of a $6 million remodeling of the 203,000-square-foot store.

Walmart celebrated the completion of the $6 million, 3½- month-long remodeling of its Henderson Supercenter with a ceremony and ribbon-cutting on Friday morning.

“What a 14 weeks!” store manager Jimmy Goins declared, thanking store employees for “serving customers while we were a live construction zone.”

Among the highlights are bolder colors at the three store entrances, improved directional signage, larger department signs and a tripling of the number of self-checkout lanes.

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The store now features 27 self-checkout lanes, including 16 near the grocery entrance and 11 at the home and pharmacy entrance, that are more spacious than their predecessors.

Walmart associates line up at food trucks outside the newly remodeled Supercenter in Henderson on Friday. The $6 million project included repainting store entrances with bolder colors.
Walmart associates line up at food trucks outside the newly remodeled Supercenter in Henderson on Friday. The $6 million project included repainting store entrances with bolder colors.

Among other updates:

  • A new grab-and-go deli/lunch area at the front of the store that features prepared wraps, subs, salads, pasta dishes, snacks and beverages.

  • Polished flooring throughout the store

  • Expanded back-room staging for online grocery pickup and delivery

  • Updated pharmacy, vision center and auto care and apparel department.

  • Refreshed customer restrooms and the addition of a mother’s room for customers

  • A relocated pet department to the grocery area to include fresh pet refrigerated items

  • Improvements to the parking lot, including new cart corrals and striping

While signage inside the store has been improved, some departments have been relocated and Goins encouraged customers to use the Walmart smartphone app, which identifies the aisle for every item of merchandise in the store. One department that hasn’t been changed, aside from signs, is the grocery, he said.

Goins lavished praise on associates, from hourly workers to store leads and department coaches, for their work keeping the store functioning during the remodeling, and thanked both vendors and customers for their cooperation.

Jimmy Goins, manager of the Walmart Supercenter in Henderson, makes remarks during a celebration of the completion Friday of a $6 million remodeling of the 203,000-square-foot store this year.
Jimmy Goins, manager of the Walmart Supercenter in Henderson, makes remarks during a celebration of the completion Friday of a $6 million remodeling of the 203,000-square-foot store this year.

He also announced that 50 new full-time employees have been added, bringing the total workforce here to approximately 325, with two-thirds of associates working fulltime.

The 30-minute celebration began with the singing of the National Anthem by Henderson County High School senior Emily Hayes while a County High ROTC color guard presented the colors. It concluded with a dedicatory prayer by Rev. Charles Johnson followed by store lead Josh Carter leading associates in a raucous reciting of the Walmart Cheer.

Goins announced $7,500 in grants to three local nonprofits, with $2,500 each to Junior Achievement, the Henderson Boys & Girls Club and the Chloe Randolph Foundation.

More than a dozen associates with 20 years or longer service at Walmart in Henderson were recognized, and two associates with a combined 86 years of service — Bobbie Mullins and Karen Rexroat — cut the ceremonial ribbon.

Afterwards, associates posed for photos with the asterisk-shaped Walmart Spark and munched cupcakes that bore the company’s signature blue and yellow colors or lined up at food trucks set up outside. Nearby, the Henderson Fire Department’s Ladder 1 truck displayed an oversized American flag from its raised ladder.

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According to a company news release, a new mural, by artist Dav Yendler, is to be unveiled at the store as well. The myral features a collage that combines the John James Audubon State Park museum, the Preston Arts Center, the former Union Station and the Ohio River railroad bridge into a single scene. It is part of Walmart’s Community Mural Program, which it says is the largest public-facing art installation celebrating communities across America as company stores are remodeled.

More vivid colors greet customers at the newly remodeled Walmart Supercenter on Barret Boulevard in Henderson on Friday.
More vivid colors greet customers at the newly remodeled Walmart Supercenter on Barret Boulevard in Henderson on Friday.

Goins noted that Walmart has operated in Henderson for 42 years, having opened its original store on July 4, 1981 in Old Orchard Shopping Center. That was followed by the opening of a much larger store in Audubon Village shopping center in 1987 and the construction of the current 203,000-square-foot Supercenter on Barret Boulevard in 2007.

The celebration of the Henderson Supercenter remodeling was one of three in Kentucky on Friday, with ceremonies also taking place at stores in Winchester and near Louisville.

In a statement, company director of communications Brian Little, “Walmart is building on its commitment to the communities it serves, and has been investing in its stores for some time.”

This article originally appeared on Henderson Gleaner: Henderson Walmart Supercenter celebrates remodeling and enhancements