• Supermarket News , Wednesday, April 18, 2012 10:15 AM

Even before it opens a Walmart Neighborhood Market in the Chinatown section of downtown Los Angeles early next year, Wal-Mart said it plans to open a Neighborhood Market in the San Fernando Valley suburb of Panorama City. Wal-Mart said Monday construction on the 31,000-square-foot store is already under way, and the store is scheduled to open by the end of 2012. It will be housed in a space in a 90,000-square-foot shopping center that was formerly occupied by an independent operator, Valley Foods Warehouse, which shut its doors five years ago.

Steve Restivo, senior director of community affairs for Walmart, said the company has been working with the Panorama City community for the past few weeks to understand the challenges local residents face. "We continue to think Wal-Mart can be part of the solution here in Los Angeles when it comes to economic development and expanded access to fresh food," he said.

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