‘It’s hard on my family’: Impact of Wadesboro Walmart closing being felt months later

WADESBORO, N.C. — Prior to the pandemic, Walmart was one of the most popular stores in Wadesboro and used to be packed with people.

But for nearly eight months, it has been empty and abandoned. The store closed in late March.

“It was just really sickening for us to lose our Walmart,” said Melanie Little, with Anson County transportation.

>> In the video at the top of the page, Channel 9′s Genevieve Curtis shows how the closure has made life tougher for hundreds of people in the small town.

When the Wadesboro Walmart announced it was shutting down, it was a sudden -- and for this community -- a painful loss.

“We felt like we lost a member of our family when they left us like they did,” said Anson County Chief Magistrate Weaver Thomas.

The retail giant cited financial reasons for the closure. It left behind a big, empty building and sprawling parking lot, once packed with cars. What is less visible is the true impact of the closure in a county struggling with poverty during a pandemic.

“Walmart closing has really impacted the livelihood of the citizens of Anson County, particularly the elderly,” said Rev. Bernice Bennett.

Little drives Anson County residents who don’t have transportation and has made countless trips to Walmart.

“It was so many that I can’t even name, someone was always calling me,” she told Channel 9. “To us, Walmart was a one-stop -- you could get your meds, you could get groceries, you could get clothing.”

The store housed a bank, a subway restaurant, a hair salon and a cellphone store -- which was helpful in a county where one out of 10 people don’t have a car. Some of those who don’t drive are elderly, others can’t afford transportation.

Eighty-two-year-old Louis Blakney is still driving. He often takes others along to run errands. But instead of just driving down the street to get his medications and necessities, he’s now driving to Rockingham or Monroe -- a 45-minute roundtrip.

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There are two other pharmacies in Wadesboro, but many residents preferred Walmart, telling Channel 9 it carried the cheaper, generic versions of their meds.

And that’s even more important to people on fixed incomes.

“I was getting it a whole lot cheaper here,” said Louis Blakney. “Between $8 and $9.”

The Blakenys said that Walmart closing as the pandemic started made it even tougher for residents to get what they needed to stay at home.

Many seniors are high-risk and are apprehensive about going out in the community. Walmart’s abrupt departure also left 200 people without a job. Sherion Allen worked as a cook in Walmart’s deli for 13 years. She never saw the closure coming.

“I was planning on retiring there, now I’m just drawing unemployment because it’s very hard to find a job right now,” she said.

Employees were offered the opportunity to transfer to another store -- out of town -- but not everyone could make that work. Allen and her family now carpool to the Walmart in Rockingham to do their shopping.

“That’s a lot of gas money that I really don’t have,” she told Channel 9. “So, it’s hard. It’s hard on me and my neighbors. It’s really hard on my family.”

Walmart’s closing also took away sales tax revenue from Anson County, which is already among the state’s most economically distressed counties.

But some see an opportunity here.

“We aren’t going to dry up and go away,” said Anson County Commissioner Jarvis Woodburn. “We will continue to exist and probably do better that they’re gone.”

Woodburn sees opportunities for local businesses. Many of them struggled to compete when Walmart first came to town. He said some are already seeing customers return.

“That would positively impact the local business that we have left and may even bring some back,” he said.

The next big challenge for the county is figuring out what to do with all of the land and how to best utilize the space.

Those conversations are happening now.

?Nobody saw this coming?: Walmart to close its Wadesboro store ?Nobody saw this coming?: Walmart to close its Wadesboro store

Cox Media Group