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The Rev. David Anderson says an opening prayer.
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Streadroy Bradshaw sings the national anthem.
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Packed parking lot at the new Walmart.
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New North Adams Walmart Opens on Wednesday

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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The new Walmart SuperCenter opens Wednesday morning in North Adams. A preview party was held Tuesday night.

Update: Opening day remarks and store hours added to the story.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Nearly 100 excited shoppers, employees and local leaders gathered around a stage set-up at the south entrance of the gigantic Walmart Supercenter for its grand opening Wednesday morning.

"I'd like to welcome everyone here to my beautiful new store, thank you so much for joining us today," said Store Manager Alexis Bartos in her opening remarks.

The store's opening comes less than a year since its groundbreaking.

"This is a very special day for the city of North Adams and the greater Berkshire region as we open this store," said Mayor Richard Alcombright. "More importantly... I want to say this again, welcome to Walmart!"

The Rev. David Anderson also led a prayer, a Walmart tradition for store openings.

"We gather as a city this morning as a community ready to celebrate and embrace this special event and what it will mean for our city," Rev. Anderson said during his brief prayer. "We give thanks for all the work that has gone into the planning, preparation, building and the stocking of the shelves of this store for the months leading up to this day."

Brandon Boucher, a nine-month employee, led the crowd in an enthusiastic cheer similar to what he had done Tuesday night.

After Streadroy Bradshaw, who works at the Northampton store, sang "The Star-Spangled Banner," seven 20-year veterans of the North Adams store participated in the ribbon cutting, with Adams resident Carol Filiault making the cut.

On the Tuesday night, employees, their friends and families, and invited guests got a sneak peek of the 160,000 square foot store at the Hodges Cross Road intersection.

"There's been a great response, how beautiful the store is, a lot of really proud associates able to show their families all the hard work they've done," said Bartos, who moved to the area from Ohio nine months ago to take over operations, on Tuesday. "I keep hearing, 'it's big, it's big."

The store is large, containing a full grocery that includes a deli, meat department and produce, home and garden section, styling salon, vision center, pharmacy and Dunkin' Donuts.

The preview included check presentations from Walmart to Hancock Elementary School, Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, Berkshire Family and Individual Resources, Berkshire Arts and Technology Public Charter School, Berkshire Food Project, Berkshire Community Action Council and the North Adams Police Department. Bartos said about $9,000 in all was donated.

The older store, opened in September 1993 at the former Coury's Drive-in, was closed Tuesday afternoon for the final transfer. The old store is not expected to be vacant too long.


Bartos said associates from the new and old store had meshed well working back and forth to run the older store while getting the new one up and running. "It was difficult but it was well worth it," she said.

The SuperCenter has about 286 employees, split between full and part time; nearly 100 of those are new jobs.

One of the new workers was Cheryl Plouffe, who started on April 25 and was touring the store with family members. She wasn't sure what to expect on opening day, but she was sure of one thing on Tuesday: "I'm very happy."

Her relatives were even more excited that the new SuperCenter contained a fabrics section — something that the older store eliminated more than six years ago.  

"I'm excited about this material and the notions for sewing because there's been nothing up here," said Carole Gordnier. "We've had to go to Pittsfield. ... Hallelujah."

(Another woman walked down the aisle with her hands in the air saying "I'm in heaven ... they have fabric!")

City Councilor Marie Harpin thought the store was beautiful. "It's a fabulous addition to North Adams. ... I think it's going to boost the economy."

A boost is what local officials were hoping for when the store broke ground after several years of waiting. The Walmart is hoped to be the anchor for development along the city's southern entrance.

"First, this was an awful big investment in Berkshire County," said Berkshire Chamber of Commerce President Michael Supranowicz. "A store this big will also be a retail draw. I would say we will get more people through North Adams because I think this store will draw from farther out. You won't just get your typical Northern Berkshire folks. I think you'll get folks from Southern Vermont, possibly southern New Hampshire."

More traffic coming through North Adams is an opportunity for local retailers, Supranowicz said.  

Alcombright echoed the importance of a "significant investment by a significant corporation," on Wednesday morning noting that without investment communities don't grow.

Bartos said there will be local vendors and agencies in the store Wednesday with more activities planned for the weekend.

"We really just want to open the doors to all our customers," she said.

The Walmart SuperCenter's hours are 7 a.m. to midnight every day.


Tags: ribbon cutting,   store opening,   Walmart,   

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Pryor & Peacock's Whimsical Furniture Environmentally Friendly

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
 

The company uses digital printing to create the upholstery fabric, saving water and saving vintage furniture from ending up in landfills.

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — A unique furniture store has popped up on Elm Street this month.

Mom-and-daughter store Pryor & Peacock is hosting the pop-up storefront from Aug. 13 to Aug. 25 at 6 Elm. The New Marlborough business is co-founded by Rosalina Wright and Luca Shapiro, who is also the creative director. 

Their online shop was created in 2024 but they wanted people to see the pieces in person, so they're renting the space for a limited time before a long-term tenant moves in.

The store sources prints to create unique fabrics and reimagines vintage and antique furniture acquired at auctions, local shops, and online.

"We source prints from all over the world that date from the late 1600s up through mid-20th century, and Luca turns those prints into fabric by manipulating them, scanning them, oftentimes has to add or subtract things, and then we manufacture the fabric using only digital printing, which is very environmentally friendly, unlike traditional textile printing," Wright said.

Upholstering the furniture can take weeks of work. Shapiro looks for the perfect design for each piece and, if need be, uses Adobe Photoshop to extend the art work to fit or enhance the print.

"One of the most difficult parts comes in marrying the fabric to a piece of furniture because we only use antique and vintage frames also to be earth friendly, and they're also more beautiful and durable than new furniture," Wright said. "So the image has to go with the furniture, so that takes a lot of work."

One of Pryor & Peacock's missions is to be environmentally friendly. Digital printing doesn't use the same amount of water as traditional textile productions do nor does it contaminate water with ink according to their website.

Not only are they saving water, but they are saving furniture from going into the landfill while also using more durable furniture that doesn't break as easily as current pieces. They started their business to create something unique and to help the environment together.

"It's creating something nobody else is doing. People can't continue to buy throwaway furniture. Six percent of American landfills is furniture, and digital printing not only opens up the possibility of being able to put unique images on a piece of furniture, but it also is, as I said, environmentally friendly. So, for us, the excitement is to take an old East Lake settee that somebody's going to store in their barn and forget about, and make it something completely new and surprising," Wright said.

They hope their furniture helps bring a pop of fun to someone's home.

"We think our furniture is very whimsical and surprising, and most furniture today is oatmeal colored couches and gray neutral chairs, and it's boring," she said.

The two named their business after their mothers' maiden names to honor them and believe the name reflects their pieces.

Shapiro works in interior design outside of the business and the two liked working together and thought it would be great to start a business together. Shapiro says they can work well together and that her and her mother, Wright, has flipped houses before and have the same eye for design.

"So it's very easy for us to work together. When we see something, generally we agree on whether it works or doesn't work on a piece. We agree on the color schemes and that sort of thing. So it's very fun and fulfilling to work together," Shapiro said. 

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