- October 2, 2024
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After months of waiting, Palm Coast’s new BJ’s Wholesale Club opened on Sept. 20.
“We’ve been thrilled with the reception in the community and the member turnout,” BJ’s Chief Communications Officer Kirk Saville said.
Saville said people were joining the club even in the days leading up to opening day with a lot of “excitement and enthusiasm.” The Palm Coast location is BJ’s 38th club in Florida and 245th club overall.
The store has around 100 employees, from part-timers to management, he said, and those are a mix of veteran employees who have transferred from other BJs store locations and local new hires. BJ's prides itself, he said, on offering potential career paths for all its employees and offers a starting pay that is “well above minimum wage in all of our markets.”
BJ’s Wholesale makes roughly $20 billion a year in revenue, he said.
A large part of what separates BJ's from other retailers is its commitment to “delivering unbeatable value,” Saville said, through a combination of great promotions, savings and high-quality goods and brands.
“It’s all based on value,” he said.
The Palm Coast BJ's has also joined other Northeast Florida locations in donating fresh meat, produce, dairy and bakery items at the end of every week to Feeding Northeast Florida, a local branch of the nonprofit Feeding America. Saville said that Feeding Northeast Florida then partners with other, more local food banks in the community.
BJ's Wholesale has partnered with the Feeding America network for over 15 years. In fiscal year 2022, it donated more than 12.9 million pounds of food to Feeding America food banks. According to Feeding Northeast Florida — which serves eight counties, including Flagler County — Flagler County has a food insecurity rating of 12.2%
This is just one of the ways BJ's tries to give back to its local communities, Saville said.
“We're driven by a powerful purpose,” he said. “We say we take care of the families who depend on us.”