Negative impact?

POST FALLS - Jena Burrow's hair salon is one of a kind, she says.

On Tuesday, 5-year-old Josie Schultz seemed oblivious to the woman curling her hair as she gripped the zebra-shaped barber's chair and watched a kids movie.

In the background, other kids played with dollhouses and train sets in the waiting room. Another girl picked out a DVD to watch during her trim.

"We're really set up for children," said Burrow, owner of the Post Falls salon, Hair Zoo. "We really try to focus on doing a good job and treating the kids really nice, and a lot of people prefer that."

The specialized service her salon offers is why Burrow, and many other Post Falls business owners, have no anxiety about the new Walmart opening today in Post Falls.

Although the new 154,000-square-foot supercenter by Cabela's will include a Cost Cutters, Burrow said she believes customers will stick with her salon because of the many toys, children's books and DVDs kids can watch during haircuts.

Some customers already tell her they prefer her salon to the Walmart on Mullan Avenue.

"We know how to deal with the children, and we try to be very patient. Some places aren't really that nice to the kids," Burrow said with a laugh.

Sandy Seright, owner of Ace Hardware in Post Falls, is confident that a few months after his customers have checked out the new Walmart, they'll return to Ace for their hardware needs.

"I think we'll be fine," he said.

The business owner knows from experience.

When Post Fall's first Walmart supercenter opened about nine years ago - right across the highway from Seright's 31-year-old business - his customer base didn't suffer.

"They (Walmart) carry a different product line than we do," Seright explained.

He pointed to Ace's unique small engine repair, and certain brands it carries like Benjamin Moore paint that can't be found at Walmart.

"Benjamin Moore is a top-end paint. People love that," Seright said. "We're not even worried about it."

Brandon Schillinger, owner of Perfection Tire and Auto Repair in Post Falls, said he didn't expect the new Walmart to impact his business any more than the Mullan Avenue store does.

"It's very limited in how it's affected us," Schillinger said. "Very rarely do I run into a problem where I'm competing with them."

He admitted that in some cases, his business can't match the supercenter's prices.

But while Walmart only offers tires and auto repair, Perfection's services are much broader, Schillinger said. His business also offers warrantees that apply at different companies across the country, while Walmart's only apply at their own locations.

And there's something to be said for the customer service at a small-town business, he added.

"We still know our customers. When they come in the door, we know their names. They're not just a number," he said. "We pride ourselves in that."

The Post Falls Chamber of Commerce had worried that mom and pop stores might suffer when the city's first Walmart was built, said Pam Houser, chamber CEO and president.

"That was a huge question," she said.

But after several years, she said, the city has seen otherwise.

Business at Ace Hardware has increased, Houser believes, and she observed that the Super 1 Foods parking lot is still crowded every day.

"I don't see where it (Walmart) has hurt any of the local businesses," she said. "Obviously demand is here for both kinds of services, and people like a choice."

Several new businesses popped up around the Walmart on Mullan Avenue after it opened, she added.

She is confident those businesses never would have developed, if Walmart hadn't been in the area.

"It's actually offered a lot more growth to the area," she said.

Alivia Body, regional economist with the Department of Labor, added that the new Walmart's location by Interstate 90 is aimed at attracting tourists and out-of-state drivers.

"I think they're trying to capture that market, and not necessarily try to take out the mom and pop stores," Body said.

Joey Smith, store manager of the new Post Falls Walmart, said the location was chosen as an anticipated growth area.

"This is going to be one of those hubs in the next 10 years where you see a lot of businesses come out here," he said.

He expects the new store will promote more businesses to develop in that area, he said, and added that 80 percent of the roughly 230 employees in the store were hired locally.

"If anything, I think the community and mom and pops benefit from a Walmart," he said.

The new Post Falls store, located at 6405 West Pointe Parkway, is scheduled to open today at 8 a.m.

The 24-hour supercenter will include more than 30 merchandisers departments, a Subway restaurant, video game area, wireless phone sales, groceries and clothing.

The Walmart Foundation will present $15,000 in local grants during the grand opening.

The new Hayden Walmart is scheduled to open at 550 W. Honeysuckle Ave. on Sept. 15.

A new Walmart store is a good sign for the local economy, Houser said.

"Especially in this economy, it sends a message that Post Falls is open for business and business is good," she said.