This is nothing but a Walmart-loving puff piece. While other cities get Whole Foods and stores with REAL FOOD, Pleasanton gets the bottom of the barrel. I hope you like getting your produce from Mexico and China. So much for supporting local farming. Maybe we should just rename this town “Walmarton”.

Get your produce from the Farmer's Market. Avoid buying vegetables in a styrofoam tray/plastic wrap package, or with little paper stickers with codes in it, that comes from God only knows where.

Plus, you will be supporting local growers instead of corporate farms. It is a win-win situation.

It's a very simple equation...vote with your dollars. If Wal-Mart provides value for you, by all means shop there. If it doesn't, or if there is another reason why you don't want to shop there, then don't. If the store is profitable it will stick. If it doesn't, Wal-Mart will remove it. Talking about it, arguing pros and cons, has zero effect.

Love the FM by the way...I vote with my dollars there every chance I get.

If the snobs in this town prefer to pay twice the price for the same item then let them shop elsewhere - those money conscious shoppers who know that Walmart have the better prices can and should shop at Walmart without backlash. Why pay $4.99 for Orroweat White Bread in Safeway/Lucky - it's $2.98 in Walmart. This is just one example of why people choose to buy groceries in Walmart - 'cos the other supermarkets overcharge in just about everything.

I guess if you eat white bread you should shop Walmart...

Sal, you're free not to shop at Walmart and you're also free to petition Hole Foods to set up shop for their overpriced goods in town, near the new low income housing about to be built. Good luck with that.
Bud, you right about the Farmer's Market...it's great; but, what have you got against white bread?

I just said if you eat white bread you should buy it at Walmart since it's cheaper. I don't eat white bread. I buy bread at Trader Joe's, and I prefer whole grain. Matter of preference.

Steve,
Sal and Bud believe that only uneducated trailer-trash WalMart shoppers eat white bread. Rather than rename P-Town as "Walmarton", I suggest we rename it "Nimbytown".

That particular building was vacant, and looking for a tenant for some time. TJ or WF could've come forward and negotiated a lease, but WalMart saw the location and pulled the trigger.

I agree with Paul -- if you don't like WalMart, don't shop there.
Why all the whining from the non-white bread eating people?

My apologies Bud. Your most recent post arrived while I was sharpening my arrows.

And it looks like you can get your arrows pretty sharp.

:)

Personally, I could care less if a Walmart grocery store comes to town or not. Because of my family's eating habits, we most likely wouldn't shop there. I get all my produce at the Farmer's Mkt, meats according to what's on sale in the week from the local store's newspaper ads, a trip to Trader Joe's once a week and a monthly trip to Costco. I think the only produce I buy at grocery stores are bananas. the rest is all seasonal stuff. Good and cheap.

Sorry - earlier post mentioned white bread - all Orowheat bread is twice the price at Safeways/Luckys - wheat bread included - I was just trying to make a point. If Walmart can sell bread at this price why can't the other stores. Just saying.....

buycheap...they CAN sell it cheaper. And if someone wants to pay twice as much for bread or shampoo or anything else then yeah for them. Me, I'll buy it cheaper and save the difference. I wonder how many of these people complaining about Walmart really do shop there.
It makes absolutely no sense at all to me why anyone would pay 4.99 for a bottle of shampoo at Safeway that they could buy for 1.99 at Walmart.
Do these people just have so much money it doesn't matter.
I will be making my YES vote for the Neighborhood market known to the city council and urge others to do the same

@ Ester - "I wonder how many of these people complaining about Walmart really do shop there."

They probably don't shop there so they don't realize how cheap it is to buy the exact same product for half the price. I'm with you on this....more money in my pocket I say.

"I guess if you eat white bread you should shop Walmart..."

Wow!!! Do you REALLY look at that world and people through those glasses?????

Never mind, your post suffices as an anaswer.

Whole Foods is a good case in point. If the store wasn't profitable, it would be gone, replaced with something else or empty. Say what you will about its merchandise or the folk that shop there, it offers enough value to enough people for it to remain in business. I suspect the same will be true for the Wal-Mart that's the subject of this thread.

I think the real issue here is 'image'. Walmart emits a negative connotation for a lot of folks; not simply those snobby types who give P-town a bad reputation. Any way you slice it, across this great country, Walmart represents cheapness. You can't blame the locals for being disappointed that yet another Walmart is coming to town. You would have to be blind to see there is a different clientele that shops Walmart than that which frequents Target across the Freeway. Funny thing is; Target's prices are pretty similar, yet the shopper is treated to a much more enjoyable experience.
We can argue White Bread/Whole Grain, Snobs/Regular folks, all day on this thread, but I think many would agree this is all about the image Pleasanton evokes. I have lived here almost 20 years now, and I never could have predicted the change in this community. There are a lot of regular folks who settled here because of the small town charm, and lack of big box stores. We just have to look a little harder now for them.
Oh, one more thing - Windmill Farms in San Ramon has excellent, local produce at reasonable prices. I'm all for supporting the local guy!

I have lived in Pleasanton since 1977. We moved here because we liked the town. Grew up in Danville and been in the valley all my life.
Image means diddly squat to me! I have never given one seconds thought to what kind of image I might be giving if I shop at Walmart.
If I was concerned about image...I would have probably have stayed in Danville!
@ molly...you say Walmart represents cheapness. Where is the line between cheapness and just plain frugal shopping?

maybe the real issue here is silly willy molly...

I for one am happy an affordable grocery store is coming to town. I was raised on safeway and luckys. I transitioned to trader joes, genes and the farmers market. However, since both my husband and I lost our fulltime jobs almost two years ago, and we cant make monthly ends meet for our family of four without withdrawls from our quickly depleting savings/college/retirement accounts a store like walmart grocery will help our money go farther. I always find it hard to believe how many people care about image over human needs. Ptwn residents need to realize that our town and its people are not immune to the problems of society, and yes some of us need the help a discount grocer can bring. Btw...we prefer whole grain bread...but if I have to buy white bread and bologna so my kids have something in their somach, I will.

*stomach

Molly, the image of our town is changing for the worse as we speak, as we wait for the new projects to be built. Low income housing wil forever tarnish the current image of our town, not a store whose image you turn your nose up at. Find a real problem.

I am also glad that Walmart is moving in there. We need a grocery store which is as close as Knob Hill was and hopefully it will not cost us more money like Safeway does. I got a union flyer in the mail today trying to dictate which businesses can open in the city..................we need competition all the way around.

@steve....how ignorant you are to think low income housing tarnishes our image as a city. Look at all the local businesses that use minimum wage workers to maximize their profits. Its ok for these business owners to live in pleasanton, but not their employees? I think what tarnishes our community is the holier than thou attitude that many here have. our community is aprised of people from all walks of life, and our community should offer services/housing to everyone.

Selma, it's easy for you to take your holier than thou stance and magnanimously claim that low income housing won't negatively impact our city...after all, bridle creek isn't near the new projects being planned. What makes you think all our business owners don't commute into the area....talk about ignorant.

How many minimum wages workers are there in your neighborhood? Why do you mistakenly think that all workers need to live here? How naive are you to think we can provide housing and services to everyone? You, no doubt, want everyone else to pay to support those poor, downtrodden workers, so I suggest the bill be sent to you since youre son generous with other peoples earnings.

Say what you will, Walmart opened up shop and the others didn't.

Oh, and those bar codes can make it possible to track products and product ingredients from the field to the store shelf, which facilitates quality control and food safety. Local is not an automatic guarantee. Far from it.

Mike

Glad, tell us about the union flyer?

The mailer basically said that Mayor Jennifer Hosterman was just concerned about running for future political office and had failed to listen to the people of Pleasanton for many years and that the people should have a voice in whether something is approved or not. The mailer said Hosterman doesn't want the people to have a say in how Pleasanton is run.

"...those bar codes can make it possible to track products and product ingredients from the field to the store shelf, which facilitates quality control and food safety. Local is not an automatic guarantee. Far from it."

However local is fresher, tastes better, has very competitive prices and supports the local guy rather than big corporate farms. I'm all for supporting the small guys, as well as eating local and fresh.

To each their own.

Critics should consider the value of having a viable enterprise moving in to a shuttered storefront. Many communities througout the U.S. would be thrilled to see something like this happen in their town. I know we would in the Pacific Northwest.

The flyer was just an attempt by some organization in town to have just about any business approved or declined by what they sell. If they are non union or Walmart it would be impossible for them to get approved or if they were union or Safeway it would be a rubber stamp. Just the same old union stuff which is destroying the state and country.

@steve...perhaps you missed my earlier post...both my husband and I have been out of fulltime work for two years...I welcome the new Walmart grocery store...and answer me this...why can't everyone live in the town where they work? Do you know how much transportation (public or private) cuts into ones wages? Your a SNOB. You probably cross the street when someone a different color than you is on the same side.

Oh my heavens Selma. Must you resort to name calling? Everyone is entitled to their opinions. Just because someone doesn't see things they way you do doesn't make them a snob.

I'm thrilled that another grocery store is moving into the old Nob Hill space. That means more jobs and more competition for the other overpriced grocery stores in the area.

Would it be nice if the jobs were union, the groceries organic & local, etc.? Yeah, I guess. Lots of things would be nice. It would also be nice if gas was 99 cents a gallon and I never had to pay taxes again. But I'm not holding my breath while I wait for those things to happen, and Pleasanton shouldn't hold its breath waiting for the picture-perfect tenant to move into the vacant Nob Hill store.

Mayor Hosterman & co.: Do not screw this up by trying to keep Walmart out. You will only be hurting Pleasanton. And we will remember.

"Mayor Hosterman & co.: Do not screw this up by trying to keep Walmart out. You will only be hurting Pleasanton. And we will remember"
Yes we will!!!!
I will be glad to have a Walmart grocery. It was a sad day when Pak and Save closed in Dublin...all because the new Safeway opened.
They will get my grocery business for sure.

Selma, you're right. I've seen the error in my ways and agree that all workers in town need to live in the city limits so they don't have to commute in their Priuses or via public transit.
we need to set up tents in bridle creek now, to house the transient laborers before they find work in their current hometown. You're right, we can house everyone.....such a practical, realistic requirement.
Finally, Selma, since you tried to drag race into the discussion, if I were able to get through the gates to bridle creek, I'd certainly cross the street to greet your minority neighbors.....what? There aren't any? Hmmm....what was your point again by bringing up race?
Good luck finding work at your age and with your utopian requirements and hypocritical views.

I love it. Walmart is denied being able to put in a grocery store at their existing location by the City Council because they decide in our best interests (sic) what type of stores we should shop at. Now Walmart scoops em and goes into the former Nob Hill where they are legally permitted to operate. The public and politicians should quit trying to socially engineer and manage our lives.

Is the fact that Safeway is so important to this city the reason Walmart has so much trouble. They started out planning a Super Walmart. That got axed by the city. They try to add more groceries to the present store and get city opposition left and right. They want to put one of their neighborhood markets in Nob Hill and that is probably never gonna happen.
I think the city council needs a good cleaning out.

Selma, I refer to you to the website "peopleofwalmart.com" It isn't pretty.

@steve...you have no idea how old I am, but probably chronologically and physically younger than you. @ mike...ive seen those pics...posted all over the internet...however ive never seen anyone like that in ou yir pleasanton walmart

this seriously shows how stuck up Pleasanton really is..swaaaaaaaankville.

Ive lived in Sausalito & Marin before moving to Pleasanton. P-Towners arent snobs, just uptight posers.