Wal-Mart of Rochester, NY: A Layout Lost in Time

For out first post, here we present to you a Wal-Mart store with a layout not conducive to its decor package. This store originally opened on July 2, 1991 as the second Wal-Mart in New York State. Pictures were taken on February 9th, March 7th, March 12th, March 20th, and May 1st.

Exterior has an 2-tone Project-Impact paint job. I suspect the facade with the current logo was done over around the same time.

Wal-Mart Security Cameras in Use. Likely added around the mid-late 1990s.

Parking lot lights seem original. I never understood why that one part facing the building points upward. I've seen a lot of Walmart/former Walmarts with these lights with the one pointing up. Very few have all three/four points straight.

Here is what appears to be an original cart corral. It makes no sense why it is not in use (possibly for the season?). Why all the others were updated is strange. Maybe this is an overflow corral?

Cart #1: Unarco M95. Grey bumper caps seem to suggest these were refurbished?

Date would translate to August 2008.

Seat has 2 brackets and has a newer label. Refurbished with parts from Unarco's Danville, VA plant.

Cart #2: Bumpers and bumper caps are grey. Has aftermarket straps, seat, and handle. Given its placement in front of the building, these are likely carts they are trashing. There is also a rogue newer Lowe's cart in front.

Another August 2008 unit. Appears to have never been refurbished otherwise.

Our first look inside. You can see several pillow-shaped Project Impact signs in the distance, as well as those classic security camera dome covers. Also has the red checkout lightboxes.

Blurry view of the middle actionway. This is our first dose of the red tile border, which has never been changed out. Pantry goods are to the right, which its layout was never updated, hence no aisle markers and no refrigeration coolers.

We stop halfway and look to our right, which houses the card shop. Both sides of the actionway are adorned with that classic red tile border.

What a surprise! A store that still has the electronics, home entertainment, and photo center compacted in the middle like most smaller non-super Wal-Mart stores before the Project Impact days, complete with a ceiling fan. TVs would be to the right of this photo.

Jewelry is still in the back! Does anybody know of any stores that still has the jewelry counter in the back and electronics in the middle? Seems strange for them to do this, yet have laminate and Project Impact.

A blurry and generalized view of apparel. The store's entrance can be seen.

We head to the other side of the home department, looking at Crafts & Sewing. Notice where the red tile border turns.

Garden Center. The indoor section is more of a square box. The outdoor section was closed off for the winter.

Cart #3: A little newer than the rest. You'll see why...

Date translates to March 2009. Nothing's been refurbished here.

Seat flap doesn't look to be a retrofit. Still don't know why the new Unarco seat flap logo is present.  Maybe the old seat flap logo was never outphased until 2013? The previous seat flap example has the old logo.

To wrap it up, here's the home section taken from the opposite angle. Light bulbs are present at left. That wraps it up for today's post, and the first on this blog! Look to be seeing you fellow retail fans in future posts and look forward to any insight regarding other retail here. Until next time, read and comment!

UPDATE: New photos were taken on March 7, 2018.

Vacant Sam's Club. My fear is that this might be a Supercenter replacement for the existing store.

Far shot of the store. The security camera gooseneck on the roofline is missing.

Rusty 2-way cart corral. Likely another overflow cart corral in the case the store is extremely packed.

Another grey-trimmed Unarco M95, dated 8-08. It is now obvious that when the entire fleet was new, with the exception of the 3-09 units, they originally had all grey trim, and had refurbished in the past couple of years.

Modern cart stalls. Even a dated store like this gets modern cart corrals. These are the main ones for the parking lot.

Another exterior shot. There is a large gap between the Wal-Mart building and the rest of the shopping center, likely set aside for grocery space in the event of an expansion. Store is likely still in this location and non-super either due to community opposition or the city of Greece denying either plan. With the Sam's Club vacant, there is a new possibility they will move in the Sam's Club instead.

Entering shot. Customer service is seen at left and the Pickup are visible.

Oversized Pickup area. Likely a former eatery; it has an unusually stylish interior compared to other Pickup areas. Usually these started as Radio Grills; what this was after is unknown.

Sneaked a shot of the left-hand apparel actionway. Originally there was a red tile border and carpet.

Men's Wear. This is an early sample of Project Impact, with a picture crown at the top. The signage makes the ceiling look low.

Baby section. Looks fairly sizeable.

Back actionway. Displays have children's clothing.

Middle electronics section. Standardly labeled as "Entertainment." The tile border cuts off in front of the electronics aisles, like they did before the Impact remodels. And those poles still have a carpet lining.

Original TV display. The presence of an original relic like this looks creepy in today's day and age.

Another odd and creepy feature. An empty layaway that likely last served as the Walmart.com Site-to-store service. That CRT computer monitor is quite unsettling considering it's 2018.

Taken from behind the paint counter from the hardware in the right-middle part of the store. The entrance to the Garden Center's enclosed indoor seasonal shop is visible in the distance. And yet again, that pole has a carpet lining. Now I'm convinced most if not all those poles have that creepy carpet lining.

Walking past the uncut tile border, we take a look at the Crafts & Sewing section. This section is likely in its original place, given most of the departments are in their original places.

Back right actionway viewed from hardware. More tile border is present. At least 5 mini departments of toys are noticeable.

Sporting Goods are between Crafts & Sewing and Toys. The counter is the stereotypical modern blue Impact counter.

Bikes. Placed at the corner of the front and right actionway on the left side.

Auto Care. Placed in the front right corner of the store. The Garden Center entrance is sealed off.

Front actionway full of displays and bikes at right.

Typical bump-out modernized Walmart Pharmacy.

Pantry. All products here are dry goods. No refrigeration coolers or aisle markers.

We now take a look at the registers. Offensively has red boxes, even though this store has Project Impact. Register 18 was missing, and houses displays. And the Vision Center is typical for any Walmart.

UPDATE 2: A few new pictures were added for the 12th of March of 2018.

Firearms Law. The sign is copyrighted "© 2003 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc." There is another one on the desk. Signs would later be removed.

Coming out of the garden center. More tile border visible and that black wall is the back of the TV display.

All the poles in this store are still lined with carpet. Other poles have price scanners, which are modern compared to the carpet surrounding them.

Our first look at pantry. This store is either too small or outdated to support an expanded grocery section. Generally these non-grocery Division 1 Wal-Mart stores carried dry goods, such as chips and soda.

Looking into apparel. Those actionways in softlines in these old stores were incredibly narrow compared to other non-super stores.

Save Money, Live Better banner hanging on a grey wall. Project Impact must have been next-to-nothing for those walls to still be grey.

Looking out to the front end. Again, so archaic there are no self-checkouts in this ancient store. And that "Speedy Checkout" is the only one of its kind, and that blue sign does not match the red box.

Ain't this just fun? Be careful what you wish for, you might just get relics like this if you look hard enough. The genres in the archaic 1990s sleeves include Bestsellers (pictured), Romance, Young Reader, and Inspirational. Even better is the presence of the old logo!

UPDATE 3: One new picture, on March 20th.

Probably the closest to stock as possible. That aftermarket handle looks tacky on a mostly stock shopping cart as this. Like many carts here, this one is dated 8-08, meaning those that were brand new at the time had all-grey trim.

UPDATE 4: 3 cut pictures of the outdoor area of the garden center were originally taken on May 1, 2018 and posted here on March 19, 2019.

Outdoor area of the garden center. At left would be the door leading into the main section of the store. Straight ahead would lead to the indoor section, also containing a set of manual swinging doors.

Older lawn/garden cart, manufactured by Rehrig International.

This one has the actual WAL*MART logo.

Until next time, read and comment!