POWAY - A popular farmers market-type store is closing its doors so a nearby Wal-Mart store can expand - possibly into a Supercenter, which sells produce and groceries in addition to retail merchandise.

News of the change is not sitting well with a group of residents who are already voicing their unhappiness after learning that the Plowboys Market at 13430 Midland Road will close so Wal-Mart can increase the size of its store at 13425 Community Road. The two businesses are back-to-back, bordered by Hilleary Place along their north sides.

Signs advising customers that Saturday will be Plowboys' last business day recently went up inside the store, which sells fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers and plants.

Store employees referred questions about the closing to the company's San Diego office, where officials did not immediately return phone calls.

City officials, however, said they met Tuesday with three Wal-Mart representatives who told them the Bentonville, Ark.-based discount retailer had purchased the Plowboys property.

Manuel Serrano, division chief of real estate evaluation for the San Diego County Assessor's office, said Wednesday afternoon that the sale had not yet been recorded. County records list Jerry and Pamela Segawa as the Plowboys property's owners, Serrano said.

Attempts to reach the Segawas were unsuccessful Wednesday. But Patti Brindle, interim director of development services for the city and a participant in Tuesday's meeting, said Wal-Mart's reps were clear about their plans during that session at City Hall.

"They wanted to talk about their intention to submit an application in the near future to expand the existing Wal-Mart," she said, adding that city officials were led to believe that the application would be filed within the next month.

The possibility of a Supercenter was also mentioned, and Wal-Mart's reps asked whether Poway had any regulations or restrictions against such stores, said Brindle. The city does not, she said.

"That's about all I can tell you; I don't have any more details," she said. "We just talked in general about development standards (and to) give them a heads up on what we'd expect."

The megasize Supercenters have sparked massive protests in some communities where Wal-Mart wanted to build them. The company's Web site says California has 29 Supercenters, each averaging 185,000 square feet and typically selling about 142,000 different items.

Supercenter critics have argued that the stores drive smaller competitors out of business and create traffic nightmares, among other things. Cities around the state have responded by considering prohibitions against such stores.

The San Diego City Council approved its own Supercenter ban earlier this year, only to see Mayor Jerry Sanders veto it.

The giant stores have their share of supporters, who say they bring jobs and increased competition that drives down prices for consumers.

Mayor Mickey Cafagna said he was sorry to see Plowboys go but not surprised to hear Wal-Mart wants to expand, because the Poway store has a significant amount of open land behind it. The mayor also said he did not think a Supercenter would be a problem at the site of the existing Poway Wal-Mart.

Four South Poway Residents Association members expressed different viewpoints in a series of e-mails they circulated to each other and to the media. Association founder Connie Messina said in a phone interview that the loss of Plowboys and potential expansion of Wal-Mart are yet another sign that a community that bills itself as the "city in the country" is pushing out mom-and-pop stores in favor of becoming a strip mall haven.

"This is just another example of a big chain store having its way with our city," she said, adding that the association will probably discuss the issue at its next meeting.

Brindle said any expansion of the Wal-Mart store would require a modification of its operating permit - something the City Council would have to approve.

- Contact staff writer Andrea Moss at (760) 739-6654 or amoss@nctimes.com.