NewMarket Square Walton’s closes, though overall retail sales still strong

Three years after opening at NewMarket Square, Walton’s has closed its store there.

CEO and president Brett Walton says overall business is great for the company, which sells seasonings and items related to meat processing, but sales slowed at the NewMarket space.

There’s still a retail outlet within the company’s Comotara warehouse on the east side.

“Ninety five percent of what we’re doing gets shipped out the back door of our building,” Walton says.

When the NewMarket store opened in 2015, sales grew, but then they “slowed down pretty good,” Walton says.

The rest of the company grew at 27 percent.

Plus, a manager of the NewMarket space was leaving, and it was time to renew the lease, so Walton decided to close.

Last year, Walton’s acquired Omaha-based Advantage Food Equipment & Supplies for a new service center.

For now, Walton says he doesn’t plan to replace the NewMarket store.

Customers can still shop at the east-side store or through Internet and catalog sales, which Walton says are strong.

This story was originally published August 6, 2018 at 1:46 PM.