Sam's Club has opened its very first San Joaquin County warehouse store.
The nearly 170,000-square-foot membership club opened on Thursday, Sept. 24 at 16150 Golden Valley Parkway in Lathrop. The new store, located south of Stockton, will mark Sam's Club eighth store in Northern California and the 31st in California.
As the company prepared to open to the community, the club held a soft opening for club members on Wednesday night. The Lathrop grand opening began at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and remarks from Lathrop Club Manager Ann Perry and Lathrop Mayor Paul Akinjo.
During the grand opening a $25,000 check will be presented to Toys for Tots, Lathrop Chapter, $5,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Manteca and Lathrop as
well as $5,000 to Second Harvest of the Greater Valley, according to Sam's Club. Also part of the grand opening, Jack Mancuso, a food and grilling content creator will have a meet-and greet from from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday, the company said. Mancuso has 1.6 million followers on Instagram and 3.6 million on TikTok.
From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday through Saturday there will be product sampling, giveaways and games, according to the company.
Sam's Club is offering customers special grand opening membership offers until Sept. 30. A yearlong Sam’s Club Plus membership will be $50, $70 off the regular price or $25 for a Club membership, saving $35.
"We’re focused on building clubs that reflect how our members want to shop today," Steve Schrobilgen, Sam’s Club’s Chief Operating Officer said in a statement on Sept. 22 to USA TODAY.
Lathrop Sam's Club
Perry is a Sacramento native who has been with the company for almost 20 years, she said.
"We're excited to have everybody come from the Lathrop community because we are going to bring a lot of value to the member and can create a great member shopping experience for the community," Perry said.
At the Lathrop location, Sam's Club App customers can use the Scan & Go! feature.
"It's easy to use, it's seamless," Perry said. "You're able to shop at your own pace, scan and take the items you want, pay on your own time, and go through the arches and leave with a seamless shopping experience."
At the new warehouse, customers can look forward to a tortilla machine that makes fresh tortillas daily, a full-service floral area, and a sushi bar where fresh sushi is made every day, Perry said.
Perry added that customers can create their own custom bouquets without a charge.
At the Lathrop location, customers can also find California-sourced items such as San Francisco Landmark coffee beans, Pappy's Choice Seasoning and Ghirardelli melting wafers.
Bob Alderman, Sam's Club director of operations for Northern California and Hawaii, said as members enter the store they will notice a "unique shopping experience."
"Everybody should come in and take a look at the disruptive values we have. They're gonna see some of the coolest merchandise they've ever seen in Lathrop, from the unique items we have for Christmas and Halloween, as well as some of the unique electronic items we carry," Alderman said. "It's gonna be a fun shopping experience with really disruptive values that will save members a lot of money at a time when we need to save money, with gas prices still kind of going up and concerns about inflation around the country."
Alderman added that at Sam's Club shoppers can find anything from TVs to New York strip steaks. The new location also features a pharmacy, optical and hearing center.
"One of the things that I really like is our health and wellness suite, where you can get everything from optical services and pharmacy needs to vitamins and medications, all in one quick, easy-to-shop area with very knowledgeable associates who can really help customers understand what they need," Alderman said.
Fuel station
Sam's Club fuel station held a grand opening on Sept. 4, ahead of its warehouse store grand opening.
"We’re excited to open our new members-only fuel station in Lathrop, giving members their first opportunity to experience the new location ahead of the full club opening this fall," Perry previously said. "With competitive fuel prices and strong value at the pump, it’s another way we’re delivering the value and convenience our members expect. We’re thrilled to be part of the Lathrop community."
Alderman said the fuel station is "always committed to having the best prices in the Lathrop community."
The Sam's Club fuel station is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Saturday.
Sam's Club Fresh Rebranding
Katelynn Gorton, Sam’s Club Corporate Communications spokesperson, said the Lathrop Sam's Club is one of three of the club's new rebrand.
"When you walk into this club, one of the first things we hope you see is that it reflects our refresh branding. What that is, is a new logo and it's a new modern, sleek, vibrant interior design," Gorton said. "It's all about creating this atmosphere that's very inviting for our members. It also shows how we're investing in growth and the future of Sam's Club through the various remodels and the clubs that we start opening across the country."
Gorton said part of their refresh branding is their new tagline, "Come Join Us."
"We're really excited to be part of the Lathrop community," Gorton said. "We want everyone to come inside this location and learn about what Sam's Club has to offer, whether you're an existing member or a new member. We have great value for this community and we can't wait for everyone to experience it."
Sam's Club in Lathrop will open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for plus members and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. for club members everyday. Curbside pickup is also available at this location.
To learn more about Lathrop's Sam's Club, visit samsclub.com.
Record reporter Angelaydet Rocha covers business and community news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at arocha@recordnet.com or on Twitter @AngelaydetRocha. To support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Sam’s Club opens first San Joaquin County warehouse store in Lathrop
