In just two weeks, Walmart will open its first stores in the District of Columbia.
Walmart's H Street and Georgia Avenue locations will open Dec. 4 at 8 a.m. Both the 103,000-square-foot Georgia Avenue store and the 74,000-square-foot H Street location will feature fresh produce, a deli, organic food items and a full-service pharmacy.
The stores will hire a combined 600 associates after combing through the more 23,000 applications its received from potential employees.
The arrival of Walmart has not been a smooth one. Both stores were on the verge of never opening after the retail giant threatened to pull its plans if Mayor Vincent Gray signed a living wage bill.
The Large Retailer Accountability Act, known colloquially as the "Walmart Bill," would have required the company -- and other big-box retailers -- to pay its employees a minimum of $12.50 an hour.
Gray vetoed the bill in September.
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