by Kim Hilsenbeck

With an almost circus-like atmosphere, throngs of customers turned out Wednesday morning for the ribbon-cutting and grand opening of the new Walmart in Kyle. The event — which featured a mariachi band, loud, upbeat music on a speaker system and store managers giving store cheers on a microphone — had an air of electricity.

Kyle Council member Diane Hervol said she is very glad to see the Walmart open.

“I think this is going to be a great opportunity for the city,” Hervol said.

Discussions with Walmart and the city began several years ago. Following negotiations for tax abatements and numbers of employees to be hired, along with a few revisions to the plat design, the firm finally broke ground in 2014. Now the store, with 300 new employees, hopes to draw in customers.

“Where we’re standing was a field … and now we have Walmart here kind of anchoring this part of the retail sector and it’s exciting. It’s been a long time coming,” city spokesperson Jerry Hendrix said. “We’re very happy they’re finally here.”

Hendrix added that the city anticipates the new giant box retail store is going to have a major impact on the city’s economy.

Neither Hendricks nor Hervol were able to say exactly how much sales tax the store would bring in, but Hendrix said he hopes it is “a lot.”