By Staff
supercenter
Mark Cloys of Philadelphia stuffs a desk in his car trunk after an afternoon of shopping at the Wal-Mart SuperCenter in Meridian. photo by chris allen baker / The Meridian Star
Jan. 1, 2002
Wal-Mart SuperCenter and Office Depot were the first of at least five stores to open in a new shopping area south of Interstate 20/59 and west of Bonita Lakes Mall in Meridian
Hundreds of shoppers turned out for the Oct. 24 grand opening of Wal-Mart, a hybrid department store-grocery store that replaced the old store at the I-20/59-Highway 39 exit.
The 209,927 square-foot Wal-Mart employs 550 associates. It has a vision center, a hair salon, a one-hour photo lab, a nail salon, a portrait studio and a McDonald's.
Office Depot, across from Wal-Mart, didn't have a splashy grand opening. It quietly opened its doors on Dec. 21.
Meanwhile, construction continued through the end of the year on Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse and PetSmart stores. Both are expected to open this year.