Walmart Grocery Opening March 29

The Walmart Neighborhood Market planned for the Canton Road area will hold its grand opening on March 29.

District 3 Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell made the announcement at a recent meeting of the East Cobb Civic Association.

The event begins at 7:30 a.m., just before the store opens up for business for the first time.

The Walmart store, which will sell only groceries, is another boon for the Canton Road commercial corridor that has she has been addressing in recent months.

"We're really excited," Birrell said. "I think this is going to boost that area very much."

The 42,000-square-foot store will be located at the corner of Canton Road and Blackwell Road, in the Blackwell Square Shopping Center, and in the former space of the American Thrift Store, which has moved across the road.

The store, which will have 90 employees, is the most notable new business opening in the area since Birrell formed the Canton Road Corridor Committee last year.

Positions are still being filled, and applications are available at the Walmart employment website.

Walmart has been gradually rolling out the Neighborhood Market concept in the Atlanta area, including a recent opening in Marietta.

“With major construction complete on this store, we are now headed into the home stretch for our grand opening,” Canton Road store manager Derrick Lawman said in a statement. “Next steps are to complete the landscaping and interior cosmetic touch-ups and continue associate training.

Another grocery is planned for the Olde Mill Shopping Center at Roswell Road and Old Canton Road in East Cobb, but the opening of that store has been delayed.

Birrell said construction won't begin until April 2014 because two tenants, including a Just4Fitness location, must relocate to other space in the retail center.

"It's going to take a while," she said.