ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, March 28, 1996               TAG: 9603280034
SECTION: CURRENT                  PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: KENNETH SINGLETARY STAFF WRITER

AT SUPER STORE'S FIRST DAY, A FULL PARKING LOT GENE DALTON/STAFF. WEDNESDAY WAS WALL-TO-WALL CARS AT WAL-MART'S NEW SUPERCENTER.

Wal-Mart's new Supercenter opened Wednesday amid fanfare and a daylong stream of customers.

The store opened at about 8:45 a.m., after 45 minutes of ceremonies and speeches. A long line of customers stretched out the front door while managers and local dignitaries took turns at a lectern inside.

The opening had a down-home feel to it, with an invocation, the national anthem, music, thank-yous and lots of cheers. Several hundred shoppers, employees and local officials watched. Christiansburg Mayor Harold Linkous called the store "the ultimate in one-stop shopping."

Within minutes customers were wandering everywhere, some with somewhat overwhelmed expressions. Others were sitting happily at the McDonald's restaurant in the back while still others shopped as if the Supercenter were just another store. Outside, the parking lot, with room for about 1,000 vehicles, was full.

Later in the day some customers said they had stopped by intending to pick up a few items and wound up instead with a cart-full.

"I knew there would be some really big bargains, so that's why we came," said Dana Ruble of Christiansburg, who was in the store with her husband, Yancey.

They had been shopping for two and a half hours and were not yet finished.

"It's easier just to get things all at one time," she said, adding that the two would probably return.

"I like this store better than the old store. You can actually move around without running into people constantly," Yancey Ruble said.

Kevin Adkins of Radford was found in the sporting goods section, which store managers say is one of the Supercenter's highlights.

Sporting goods at Wal-Mart's Marketplace location sold so well that Wal-Mart managers across the country learned to keep eye on what is moving in Christiansburg, said assistant manager Sidney Knowles.

"It's the best selection we have in the area," Adkins said. Prices "are less than what I'm paying now in other places."

"I'm impressed," he said. "It's a very pleasant atmosphere."

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