Small businesses hide from Wal-Mart's smiley

Walking into Jerry’s Auto Service & Parts is like walking into owner Jerry Wells’ past. A 1952 Ford that belonged to his father occupies one bay of the garage, neighbors stop by, and pictures of clients and their cars are on the wall.

“My dad started this business 53 years ago,” Wells said. “My brothers and I all grew up here. There are people coming here from when I was a kid who are old men now. They used to be young guys.”

Wells and his business may be affected if Ogden City proceeds with its plans to sell 22 acres of land to Wal-Mart. The final decision will be made in November.

In the meantime, Wells and his neighbors are waiting to see what will happen. If the sale goes through, Wal-Mart will pay $7 per square foot for the land. Ogden City is currently appraising each individual property located in the redevelopment area.

“The city appraised my land at $3.50 per square foot,” Wells said. “That doesn’t even cover the cost of the land. My dad put money into this. It used to be a mud hole. Now, it’s got cement and sewer. I can’t see it being enough to replace it.”

Wells was surprised when he heard about the city’s plan.

“They were claiming our area as blight,” he said. “The sewer needs to be repaired and there are no curbs. It’s our problem — not our fault. The neighborhood needs help. I wouldn’t mind if the city put the money into the neighborhood, but Wal-Mart? There are two Wal-Marts just up the street.”

Weber State University student Chris Maag worked at Wal-Mart for two years before beginning his student teaching at Fairfield Junior High. He knows firsthand what happens when new Wal-Mart stores open in nearby areas.

“They’re basically competing against themselves,” Maag said. “Our stores took a huge dive in sales when the store upgraded in Layton. The same thing happened when the Neighborhood Market in South Ogden opened.”

Maag also saw the effect Wal-Mart had on small businesses.

“It’s taking away your options,” he said. “You have to go to either Target or Wal-Mart and make most of your selections between those two stores to get your common everyday needs. All the other small businesses, like the smaller retailers that sell the same general merchandise, are nowhere to be seen. They can’t offer the same prices.”

According to walmart.com, Wal-Mart is the world’s largest private employer, employing 1.3 million people worldwide. Many employees are offered benefits such as insurance, retirement and stock options.

Wal-Mart also likes to be involved in community affairs.

“They actually have a committee of associates who meet once or twice a week to talk about stuff they’re giving to the community,” Maag said. “They’re pretty good about the community, actually. As my wife’s a teacher, we’ve gone there a couple of times and she’s always gotten a gift card to cover the cost or some of the cost of the activity.”

The Little Dog House, a dog grooming facility located near the Harrisville Wal-Mart, has seen several benefits of being near a Wal-Mart.

“We’ve done virtually no advertising,” said Leslie Mordaunt, owner of The Little Dog House. “There is an influx of traffic all day long in this area. Most of our business comes from people driving by.”

PetCo will be opening nearby in the next year. Mordaunt, however, isn’t worried.

While business is booming for The Little Dog House, Jerry’s Auto Service and Parts is waiting to see what will happen.

“My duty is to keep what he (Wells’ father) worked for afloat,” Wells said. “It’s a gold mine. It’s everything I’ve got.”

You can leave a message for reporter Anna Rabe by calling 626-7624.