Walls of new Mamou Wal-Mart store going up

The walls of the new Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market have started going up along Old Highway 13, near the corner with Poinciana Ave. in Mamou. Wal-Mart at first planned to open a Wal-Mart Express on the property, but changed it plans, and now plans to open the market -- a concept that the company originated in the late 1990s. The new store will primarily sell groceries, but also will have gasoline pumps and sell pharmaceuticals. Mamou Mayor Ricky Fontenot said the store is expected to open in early December and initially have 30 part-time and five full-time employees. That number of employees may increase after the store opens, he said.