Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will open a grocery store in Newbury Park next year. The Bentonville, Ark. retailer is building a Neighborhood Market at Hillcrest Drive and Ventu Park Road, near a Walgreens and Hampton Inn and Suites. Rachel Wall, the company’s senior manager of community affairs, said construction on the 36,000 square-foot outlet will begin this year. “We are always looking for opportunities to better serve our customers and the Thousand Oaks Neighborhood Market offers a convenient location to access our grocery and pharmacy products,” she said. Unlike the company’s superstores, Neighborhood Markets are much smaller and feature fresh fruits and vegetables, a bakery, a self serve deli, in addition to a pharmacy and digital photo processing center. Wall said the location will employ about 65 people, in a mix of full- and part-time positions. Other nearby Wal-Mart stores are in Simi Valley and West Hills.
