If the opening of a new Walmart Supercenter in High Ridge wasn't enough to attract a crowd, adding a Clydesdale to the mix turned out to be a popular move as well.

The result was a very crowded new store Friday as the Walmart opened for business in the High Ridge Commons development. The High Ridge Walmart, 2700 Ridge Point Dr., at the intersection of Highway 30 and High Ridge Boulevard was bustling with first-day shoppers.

It was a pleasant surprise for Robin Torretta, Walmart market manager, who said openings traditionally have been scheduled for Wednesdays instead of Fridays. But she was happy to see all the shoppers nonetheless, and said there may be more Friday walmart openings in the future.

One of the main attractions of the morning was Chuck, a Budweiser Clydesdale who stood by patiently as customers young and old posed for pictures with him.

The new Walmart Supercenter is expected to add 80 new jobs to the local work force, part of a mix of 300 full- and part-time employees that will run the store.

Daniel Webb is the store manager at the High Ridge Commons location, moving into the position after being the store manager of the smaller Walmart store in House Springs, which is now closed.

Daniel Morales, a media director for Walmart says all of the House Springs employees were offered positions at the new High Ridge Commons Supercenter.

The new High Ridge Walmart store will feature 152,492 square feet of retail space.

There has been a lot of interest in what the other stores will be located in the "outlots" in the High Ridge Commons shopping center, but developer THF Realty will not confirm what other businesses will be located there.

The Walmart Supercenter itself contains 152,492 square-foot of retail space. The adjacent stores will range from 1,500 to 17,150 square feet in size. A residential part of the High Ridge Commons development will consist of 200 acres of single family homes.