Photos by Joe Imel/Daily NewsLanna Hensley (from left), 2, Crystal Hensley, both of Glasgow, and Margie Neal and Peggy Wilson, both of Hiseville, leave the new Sam's Club on Tuesday.

They came to look, but left with two carts full.

Peggy Wilson said she bought her Sam’s Club membership a month ago at Wal-Mart in Glasgow. On Tuesday, the Hiseville resident brought her sister, Crystal Hensley, their mother, Margie Neal, and Crystal’s daughter, Lanna, 2, for a look around the huge store on Ken Bale Boulevard.

&#8220We just come in to check it out,” Wilson said.

They emerged pushing carts piled with bread, bottled water, various grocery and miscellaneous items, including whole pineapples.

And the prices were good enough to justify making the 40-mile drive once or twice a week, Wilson said.

The members-only discount store had a &#8220soft opening” Saturday to make sure everything was in place and running well, but plans special events for business and individual clients this week, said Bill Perkins, regional sales manager for Sam’s Club.

Local business operators are getting a look today at specialized services for their $35 memberships, such as the &#8220fax’n’pull” option, which allows them to pick up a shrink-wrapped, itemized cartload of items they’ve requested by fax or e-mail, Perkins said.

&#8220Anything that’s inside the four walls that they need us to pull together, we’ll do,” he said.

Businesses can also buy package memberships, tailored to their needs, granting employees and spouses access for less than $20 per person, Perkins said.

Individuals, called &#8220advantage members,” pay $40 for the privilege of shopping at Sam’s. They can buy not just bulk items, but a selection of clothing, fresh-baked goods, flowers, tools, furniture and thousands of other things – even cars. Sam’s partners with several local dealerships to provide a &#8220no-hassle” price on vehicles, Perkins said.

Businesses and individuals can buy &#8220plus memberships” for $100 offering a wider array of services, such as health insurance and deeper discounts, he said.

The store’s ceremonial ribbon-cutting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Thursday, Perkins said.

A members-only gas station under construction should open around March 1, he said.

Sam’s Club employs an average of 170 people, though that will fluctuate with the seasons, Perkins said.

It’s the first business to go up on Ken Bale Boulevard, a five-lane road built in partnership by the city, state and the Bale family of Horse Cave, which owned the land.

In 2003, the road was estimated to cost $1.7 million, with the city paying $500,000, another $800,000 coming from the state and the Bales providing the remaining $400,000.

Though the road isn’t yet finished to its eventual connection with Shive Lane, it’s projected to stay within budget, City Engineer Jeff Lashlee said.

There have been some delays in construction, he said.

&#8220Weather has shut us down for now, so construction will commence in the spring,” Lashlee said.

Its five lanes will tie into Shive Lane, and then narrow down to two, he said.

Tom Baker, a Realtor for Coldwell Banker who handled the sale of part of the Bales’ 67 acres to Sam’s Club, said that the property near the intersection of Bale Boulevard and Scottsville Road – where the Travelodge used to stand – will probably be redeveloped soon as a hotel and restaurant, but did not know of any current commitments for the remainder of the land.

There has been substantial interest in it, he said.

A privately built spur street called Trey Court leads onto the tract next to Sam’s Club, providing access for future commercial development.