OCONOMOWOC - Some local business owners say competing against multi-million dollar companies like Walmart and Sam’s Club just makes them work all the harder on customer service and supporting the community they’ve been  part of for years.

“We’re small, locally owned and we compete for part of the pie,” co-owner of Fox Bros. Piggly Wiggly Pat Fox said. “But we’re a different niche and we’re going to keep supporting our guests and our community and I think we’ll do just fine.”

A Walmart Supercenter and Sam’s Club store are being proposed for the Pabst Farms Town Centre. According to a press release, the 151,000 square-foot Walmart and 136,000 square-foot Sam’s Club will anchor the western portion of the Town Centre. The total area will be an approximately  1 million square-foot retail center located at the intersection of Interstate 94 and Highway 67 in western Waukesha County.

John Barnes Sr., co-owner of the Barnes Jewelers on 1370 Pabst Farms Circle that is located right next to the area, said he knows the Walmart will draw a lot of people, but had hoped to see something “a little more upscale.”

“We love it and have really grown here ... maybe it is time to see something happen,” Barnes said.

Lorleberg True Value Hardware co-owner Jeff Burchardt said, if approved, it will just be like having another competitor in town.

“I don’t find it too disconcerting, I think we have shoppers here that appreciate customer service and they are just not going to get that over there,” he said. “We’re always working hard to serve the customers here and will continue to do so.”

Executive Director of the Oconomowoc Chamber of Commerce Katie Miller said the chamber “supports growth and development throughout the Oconomowoc area as a means to support a vibrant local economy.”