Stung by criticism that their megastores shutter mom-and-pop shops, Wal-Mart officials are offering to rent space in the lobby of a new Chicago store to neighborhood businesses.

Wal-Mart’s tenants already include a dog groomer at a store in north suburban Zion and an Uncle Remus fried chicken outlet in its only Chicago store, on the West Side.

The company is promising to expand that practice at a proposed South Side location, inviting aldermen and other leaders to recommend barbers, manicurists, banks, fast-food chains and other businesses that would give the store some local flavor.

The West Side Wal-Mart stocks several local products, including Mexifeast tamales and La Criolla spices, said Rolando Rodriguez, the regional general manager. “We want the same resurgence of the community as we created on the West Side,” he said.