Sam’s Club reopening in Warwick adds 167 new jobs

THE SAM'S CLUB at 25 Pace Blvd. in Warwick reopened Thursday, three years after the original store at that location was leveled to make way for a newly rebuilt club. So far, 167 employees have been hired on to staff the Pace Boulevard store.
THE SAM'S CLUB at 25 Pace Blvd. in Warwick reopened Thursday, three years after the original store at that location was leveled to make way for a newly rebuilt club. So far, 167 employees have been hired on to staff the Pace Boulevard store.

(Updated, 12:47 p.m.)

WARWICK – The Sam’s Club membership-only warehouse retail store at 25 Pace Blvd. reopened its doors Thursday after an 8 a.m. ceremony celebrating the creation of 167 new full- and part-time jobs at the location.

The original store at that site was closed in 2011 after the Zoning Board of Review granted Sam’s Club the necessary permits to demolish it and rebuild a new store that would better accommodate its customers. Mark Scott, manager of public relations for Sam’s Club, wrote in an email to Providence Business News on Thursday that “Sam’s Club inherited the building in Warwick from a different retailer. The company made a decision it would be best to completely rebuild, rather than remodel.”

At 114,000 square feet, the original store at the Pace Boulevard location was approximately the same size as the newly rebuilt store, according to the Warwick Beacon, and employed 113 people.

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The new 116,000-square-foot club houses a fresh bakery, pharmacy, tire-service center and café, all available to Sam’s Club members. The range of products sold at the warehouse club includes family goods such as fresh produce, meats and bulk food products, as well as office supplies, vending-machine snacks and paper goods for small business owners.

“Not only will we have exciting merchandise at competitive prices, but our member service will be above and beyond expectations,” said local Sam’s Club Manager Gabriel Urueta. “We have high expectations for our club and look forward to working with our community again.”

Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee and Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian attended grand opening events at Sam’s Club on Wednesday and Thursday, along with members of the Central Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce.

“It is critical to our economy that nationwide businesses like Sam’s Club continue to invest in infrastructure improvements and continued growth in Rhode Island,” said Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee in a prepared statement.

At the preview event on Wednesday, Sam’s Club distributed $30,000 in community grants to the following local organizations:

  • Boys and Girls Club of Warwick
  • J. Arthur Trudeau Memorial Center
  • Warwick Police Department
  • Warwick Fire Department
  • Operation Home Front New England
  • Warwick Animal Shelter
  • Rhode Island Family Shelter

Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. – parent company of Sam’s Club – currently employ more than 2,400 people in Rhode Island, including the 167 new associates hired on so far at the Sam’s Club in Warwick.

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