The Edwardsville/Glen Carbon area is preparing for the opening of the newest retail giant to the area. On Aug. 29, 2013, Sam’s Club will be opening its latest location to the St. Louis area. The new store will be at 5 Illini Dr. in Glen Carbon at the former Do-It Yourself Center.
Sam’s Club brings about 165 jobs to the area. According to Mayor Rob Jackstadt, the store will (roughly) bring in an additional $375,000 in sales tax per year according to The Alton Telegraph.
While some members of the community are looking forward to Sam’s Club, others are worried about the negative effects it may have on the community. Edwardsville clearly supports shopping local with the recent “Shop Edwardsville” slogan on city advertisements, but some people, such as EHS teacher Mrs. Sairee Knabe and senior Erika Clark, are worried local businesses and smaller shops will be run out of business soon.
“I agree that it could put ‘mom and pop’ shops out of business. At the same time, however, if people go to mom and pop type businesses already, with there being other stores in the area that carry the same things as Sam’s does, those people would probably still go to the mom and pop stores,” Clark said. “I’ve been in Sam’s Clubs and I notice they carry most of their things in bulk and they aren’t necessarily always cheaper,” Clark said.
Mrs. Knabe thinks the newly remodeled Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club are a bit much, especially with locations so close to each other. “I absolutely feel that a Super Walmart and a Sam’s Club is overkill,” Mrs. Knabe said. “(I) think it will definitely cause one of the other grocery stores to close. My opinion is that Shop N Save won’t make it.”
What will happen if one of the grocery stores does close, community members lose their jobs, and the building sits as an “eyesore” to the community to look at?
“Edwardsville and Glen Carbon have done a great job of supporting small businesses, especially restaurants. The building of Sam’s Club doesn’t keep with that trend, but hopefully it doesn’t mean we’re completely changing directions,” Knabe said. “I appreciate the jobs it is bringing, and will likely shop there, but I hope we don’t lose some of the great businesses in our community.”
Some EHS students are worried about the traffic issue that may arise with the location of the new store. Students who travel from the east side of town have to cross the Troy Road/Center Grove Road intersection, which is hectic enough at times. Many are worried that Sam’s Club will turn traffic in that area to a disaster.
According The Alton Telegraph, IDOT as well as village members have worked together to synchronize the traffic signals at the Troy Road/Center Grove Road intersection, which will hopefully alleviate any potential traffic jams.
