A Sam’s Club in Grapevine will soon permanently close.
Sam’s Club officials announced the decision to permanently close the location due to damage caused by a tornado in December 2022.
Two EF1 tornadoes passed through the city of Grapevine on December 13. These tornados were only two of 14 that had touched down across the region and damaged multiple homes and businesses, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. Some of these businesses are still recovering.
Grapevine City officials say that the first tornado was an EF1 that was 100 yards wide with estimated winds of 110 miles per hour. The tornado moved from Sam’s Club to just southwest of the Gaylord Texan.
The tornado tore air conditioning units from the building and pieces of the roof, according to WFAA.
Chuck Paschke, an owner of a nearby business, witnessed the storm and told WFAA about his experience.
“When air conditioning units are flying through the air and not one of them landed on a car, a roof, or let alone a person — it’s just amazing,” Paschke said, according to WFAA.
The second tornado was also an EF1 that touched down at Grapevine Mills Mall. Businesses at the mall are still recovering from the tornado, with scaffolding remaining in place near some stores where roofs collapsed.
City officials reported that five injuries occurred due to the storm, but no fatalities were reported.
The Grapevine Sam’s Club has been closed since the storm, and officials confirmed on April 12 that the location would not open again.
“After careful consideration and a thorough damage assessment, we have made the difficult business decision to close our Grapevine, Texas location that incurred extensive damage during the storm last December. This decision aligns with the long-term growth strategy for our company,” said Sam’s Club officials in a statement, according to WBAP.
This is very sad news. Other area Sam’s Clubs are now overwhelmed with former Grapevine Sam’s Club customers and the shopping experience at these other area Sam’s locations has deteriorated significantly. As a Sam’s PLUS customer of many years who used the Grapevine location almost exclusively, I’m now going to switch to Costco.