Remember When Wal-Mart Opened Their First Store in Washington State?

When Did Walmart Open Its First Store In Washington State?

It seems like Walmart has been in Washington State forever but there was a time not that long ago when Walmart wasn't in the state.

Do You Recall A Time When Walmart Wasn't In Washington State?

The funny thing is that Walmart wasn't a popular option when they decided to come to the state of Washington. I remember being a young adult in my small town of Clarkston Washington and everyone was fearing for their jobs on what the impact of Walmart might do to the community.

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The funny thing is my son says that Walmart is basically the place to hang out now in Clarkston Washington and the town thrives because Walmart along with Costco is there.

But do you realize that Walmart's first foray into Washington State wasn't Seattle or Spokane?

Surprisingly, the small town of Omak has the distinction of having the very first Walmart in Washington State. The store was built in 1993 in a town with roughly 4,000 residents.

As you can tell, it was an instant success offering 200 new jobs which in turn made it Omak's number-one employer for many years.

It may seem like Walmart has always been around in Washington State but surprisingly it's only been 30 years since the first one broke ground in Omak and as they say, the rest is history.