I Went to the New Wal-Mart Supercenter on South Elm-Eugene

And I liked it.

The drive down there was nice, too, as GDOT has done some great work on S. Elm-Eugene through the Woodlea neighborhood, installing grassy medians and sidewalks on both sides of the street. It looks like there's a lot of middle-income housing being built in the area, so people will be able to walk to the Wal-Mart.

The store itself is set back from the road and has some landscaping between the road and the parking lot that make it seem less Wal-Mart-y. A brand new Lowe's hardware store is about to open up in the same complex.

I checked the grocery offerings carefully to see whether it carries the stuff we have to have. Good, fresh produce: check. Yoplait key lime yogurt: check. Bertolli bags o' frozen Italian stuff for teenagers who won't eat home-prepared Italian food: check. The only thing it lacked was the LaBrea breads that Harris Teeter carries. Claudia is a good-bread junkie. But we can always pick up a fresh loaf from Simple Kneads instead, since it's on the way home for us and we're friends with the owners.

Wal-Mart's wine selection is limited, but I was surprised to see that it carries North Carolina vintages: Hatteras Red (made from scuppernong grapes) and wine from the Biltmore Estate.

Maybe it's just because it's new, but this Wal-Mart seems nicer, brighter, and cleaner than Wal-Marts I remember. It also sports a dyed, polished concrete floor like the TajmaTeeter on Friendly Ave. used to have. I thought that floor was very cool, and was disappointed when it was covered over with vinyl tile.

Harris Teeter may have just lost a customer.