Nikki Johnson smoothes her customer’s blond hair as she snipped with her scissors, hair falling from between her fingers. Six weeks since its opening, business has been booming at Supercuts, one of the newly opened businesses at Rayzor Ranch Marketplace.

Once Walmart and Sam’s Club opens, business will get even busier, said Johnson, a shift manager for the salon.

“We’ve been really busy … and things are going well,” she said.

The buildings that will soon house the big-box retail giants appear nearly complete from the outside, with construction workers finishing up on the mustard-yellow and dust-colored brown buildings.

DRC/Candace Carlisle

A mural on the wall of the Wingstop location at Rayzor Ranch Marketplace depicts the restaurant’s aviation theme on Aug. 15.

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Walmart and Sam’s Club won’t celebrate their official grand openings until Oct. 7, according to city officials.

But some of the smaller businesses are open for business.

Along with Supercuts, dental office Absolute Smile is open, with T-Mobile expected to open this week, said Scott Finnell, on-site representative for the Rayzor Ranch developers.

The dental office has started to work on grass-roots marketing campaigns, such as going door to door and speaking to other dentists, trying to build the practice before the large retail stores open this fall, said Stephanie Juarez, a front desk employee at the practice of Dr. Cecile Nguyen.

“Business is slowly building; sometimes we don’t get to go to lunch,” Juarez said. “Once they [Walmart and Sam’s Club] open, we’ll be even busier.”

Because the large retailers aren’t open yet, there’s a perception in the community that the smaller, outlier stores at the development aren’t open for business, she said.

But that’s a mistake.

“I think we’re going to be busy soon,” Juarez said. “I think we’re going to triple what we’re doing now.”

Other businesses, such as Wingstop, are scheduled to open next week, with the highly anticipated Freebirds World Burrito to follow Sept. 16, Finnell said.

Pat Bergin, owner of Denton’s two Wingstop locations, said he’s banking on Walmart and Sam’s Club drawing traffic to the area.

“I’m hoping everyone here is busy, because it will bring more people to the area,” Bergin said.

Since this is Bergin’s second Wingstop franchise in Denton, he’s hoping his customer base will help support the new restaurant, which has a new layout and decor.

The new Freebirds location is paying homage to the University of North Texas with an “NT” on the wall behind the trademark Statue of Liberty riding a custom motorcycle. The bike is also painted in UNT’s trademark shade of dark green, and has an eagle depicted on one side.

Other retailers — such as Mattress Giant, GameStop, the Cash Store and Deluxe Nails and Spa — will open closer to the grand opening of Walmart and Sam’s Club, Finnell said.

“A lot of [the store openings are] based on Walmart opening; that’s what attracts people,” he said.

There are several retail spaces available for lease, although Finnell said he anticipates those open spaces will be leased soon.

“We have a lot of interest. It’s just a matter of time,” he said. “I’ll be surprised if we’re not full this year.”

New locations for First United and First State banks have been built at the development, but the two banks have not opened their doors.

Two standalone restaurants, Whataburger and Chick-fil-A, are currently under construction and it could be some time before they open, Finnell said.

“Chick-fil-A is the second most anticipated store out here,” Finnell said. “We don’t know yet when it will open, but the slab is down.”

The walls and roof of Whataburger have been constructed, but the restaurant is far from being finished, he said. And at Chick-fil-A’s future site, no walls have been erected.

The rest of the Rayzor Ranch development, including a second retail site and the southern side of the development, Rayzor Ranch Town Center, could take some time before it’s built out, Finnell said.

But it all depends on retail demand.

The estimated 600,000 square feet of retail at the town center is currently scheduled to open in fall 2012, he said.

The development process has taken longer than anticipated because of the global economic downturn, but things could look up in the next few years, Finnell said.

“We have to find the right development mix, and it takes longer to find that for lifestyle centers [such as Rayzor Ranch Town Center],” he said.

CANDACE CARLISLE can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address is ccarlisle@dentonrc.com.