Fun fact: Dollar General was founded by a father and son from Lafayette TN, and they opened their first store in Scottsville KY, just to the northwest of us.
I live in Lafayette, a town of about 6000 souls, and there's so many goddamned Dollar Generals around that I don't even notice them any more. We have 3 in town that I can think of and God knows how many scattered around the countryside.
To prove that, Lisa was getting directions to a shop over the phone, and she told me it was on Hwy 52 just past the Dollar General, right before you get to the Westside Elementary School turn-off just this side of Westmoreland. I told Lisa I've never seen a Dollar General there. Keep in mind I drive that road a couple times a week.
Guess what. The next time I drove to Portland, I saw that motherfucker right where the woman told Lisa it was. I have no idea how long it had been there, but I bet it was years, probably before we even moved here.
I pay my utilities in person. The place where I pay my phone bill is outside of town a mile or two to the east. One month I paid the bill and there was a bulldozer sitting in an empty field a little further down the road. I went back to pay my bill the next month and that empty lot was now a Dollar General already open for business.
And before you ask, I've been in exactly one and that was just to see what they had to offer. I left without buying anything.
There are about 14 in Crossville and Cumberland County. It used to be that there was a church on every corner. Now it is a dang Dollar General store.
ReplyDeleteThey built two in my NorCal county a few years ago. They wanted to build three but they couldn't get the third permit from the county. So what did they do? They built one just over the county line. There's not another commercial business for five miles in any direction, nothing but rural homes, open land and a CDF fire station across the highway, but by golly, Dollar General got their third store built.
DeleteI've been in one a couple of times. I really don't think their prices are all that good.
It is the same in SW Michigan and likely all over the state. They are spaced roughly 10 miles apart in every direction. Old US 31 since renumbered 2 times, has 4 between my home town and South Bend, roughly 35 miles on my former daily commute. A corner lot on a 4 corner country road (nothing nearby, and I mean nothing) was cleared a few years back, as I went by it daily, it took under 30 days from land leveling to open for business, 4 weeks flat. And yeah, only thing I stop for if thirsty is some iced tea in bottle, nothing else there is palatable or really useful to me. Of course they all compete with Dollar Tree and Dollar General of which there are a few in the same region. Amazing they all stay in business.
ReplyDeleteThere's a bunch in MN, they put one in the town up north where we have a cabin. It's got all the random junk you might need to go to the store for in a town of 207 people.
ReplyDeleteSay what you will, but they’re not a bad little store. We live in the country, outside of Fort Worth. The closest store in any direction is a Dollar General, with the nearest being about a mile or so away. Ours has a good selection and the prices are decent. They’re far better stocked and priced than the local ‘stop & rob’ gas and convenience store. If we’re cooking and have run out of something or just want to grab one or two items, they can’t be beat.
ReplyDeleteI like 'Dolla G', I get all my cleaning supplies from the dollar aisle, stuff that costs $5 at the grocery chain box or anywhere else. Charcoal Briquets? Half price most of the time, for the good stuff too. Tissues, TP, condiments, canned goods, It's a monthly trip for me. It saves me at least $10 per trip.
ReplyDeleteYou do realize many of the items they sell are smaller sized packages, right? Yes, it can be convenient to grab something, but you need to take that into account.
DeleteOne thing I don't like is, it is another China Discount Outlet and just like Hobby Lobby or other than sells 80%+ Chinesium, I try to avoid them.
They keep their restrooms locked. I'm an old man with a weak bladder. Pass, thank you.
ReplyDeleteMe too. Can't run errands without knowing where my next restroom is.
DeleteThere's 4 total in my area (Chickamauga, GA) 2 of them 2.2 miles apart, 3rd is Dollar Tree, bought out by DG, 4th farther down the road but still in zip.
ReplyDeleteCheap Chinese crap... Pass...
ReplyDeleteJust like Walmart did, they are filling a niche for customers who just want the Lowest Price Always! Never mind their low-wage workers who drive a rusted piece of shit vehicle with bald tires to get to work to keep the shelves stocked. Hopefully their workers got their kids some 'new' looking shoes at a rummage sale for the school year. Fuck 'em.
ReplyDeleteFor biblically minded: James 5:4
Well, yes and no. Dollar General pay is poor. I just looked up the pay scale for Dollar General at payscale.com. A store *manager* makes $14 an hour on average, or about $28,000 per year. That means that there's a lot of turnover and they are always looking for people, even those with marginal resumes.
DeleteA lot of the comments the site note that this is really a "stepping stone" job to get something on your resume so you can move on. There needs to be jobs like that.
Back when I was a kid in jr high and high school, everybody worked at places like this -- they didn't pay much and the work was spotty, but they hired people for whom this was not going to be their career. This was going to be something we did to get spending money and to learn some basic work skills before moving on. The classic where I lived was the local McDonalds, where half the kids in my class worked there, and the other half went there to eat and hang out with the people who worked there. At that time, these jobs were filled with high school students and old folk who were mostly filling time and worked to just have something to do.
Nowadays, of course, it's illegal to hire kids like that. By the time I was 18, I had worked as a salesman, a forklift operator, on a factory line, a hospital orderly (back when there were such things), and as a phlebotomist. None paid much, but that wasn't really the point. I never worked at any of those jobs for more than six months. In college I drove a small truck across the South, as a lab technician, farm worker, and finally "computer operator" back in the mainframe days.
So, yeah, places like this are not the place to work if you want to support a family and plan to make a career out of it. But it's good there are places left that will hire people so they can learn basic work skills like showing up on time and putting in a full days work, build a resume and move on. I have a relative who was 22 before he ever tried to get a job. He simply can't see why people insist that he show up to work every day on time and work all day long. He gets angry that people tell him to do things that he doesn't particularly feel like doing. He's never learned the basic discipline of working for a living, but he thinks that he should start off at a hundred grand a year.
Normally not a poster but a long time fan of your blog. When I am traveling long distance by car, I look for the newer DG stores. As I avoid the interstate highways when practical, nice new DG stores are a safe and clean place for my family to use a restroom and stock up on snacks and drinks.
ReplyDeleteNo customers no stores. Pretty simple. Destroy the purchasing power of the currency and the low-cost item will ALWAYS do well. Blame and END the FED.
ReplyDeleteBeen driving around the country since May, currently in Mississippi and remember when we were kids we used to do punch buggies I keep smacking my wife every time I see a Dollar general..
ReplyDeleteWay more Dollar generals than Volkswagen beetles.
VW Beetles, hey?
DeleteI've been working on a '69 Sedan, in decent shape when I got it. A few rough edges, dents and dings but pretty solid.
But was I satisfied?
No.
I started making it better.
Disc brakes, wiring, clutch, shifter linkage, pedal assy, various leaks, door gaskets & window rubber fixed so far. And plenty more still to do.
But I digress.
I haven't noticed any DG stores around here. Yet.
There is a Wally mart, and a 99-cent store nearby.
My Mom lives in a very small town. There were no stores. The one local overpriced and understocked little store closed when people got tired of his "what are you gonna do, buy somewhere else" attitude. Family Dollar moved in and eliminated the 20 minute drive to Walmart for milk or a loaf of bread. Soon after, Dollar General moved in. Like Wirecutter said, it was a vacant lot one month, and a fully stocked store the next. Prices at Family Dollar dropped a little and everyone reaped the benefits of having two local places for simple necessities.
ReplyDeleteDG and DT are satisfying demand of a niche market..poor people in areas not served by other retailers. Say what you want, but for lots of folks it's them or nothing. I shop DT because they sell cheap stuff Iike shampoo, toothpaste greeting cards, and batteries.
ReplyDeleteThey're useful for cheap canning supplies, and jugs for pressing cider. And cheap kiddie pool for the Jennovian Riviera.
ReplyDeleteWe always stop at a dollar store we haven't been to before, just...becuz. You never know that you need something until you see it on the shelf for a ridiculously low price. It's mostly junk, but you know that ahead of time. And if it benefits the local economy, so much the better.
ReplyDeleteWe pick up aluminum trays, or pool noodles, or a 12-pack of Capri Sun at those places. Not because we can't find them somewhere else, possible even cheaper, but just to keep the Walmart competition alive. It will be a shame when Amazon has us all locked into our pods, ordering our bug protein online, delivered right to the door. I shop at Dollar General for the same reason that I patronize Ace Hardware instead of ordering everything delivered from Lowe's. Spread the wealth. Share the joy.
They're building one right now in my little burg of 2200. I'm worried it's going to put the mom n pop grocery store out of business. Dollar General doesn't do fresh meat and produce, and the Fresh Market does a nice job with those. I'm hoping that the people who don't shop local will start shopping there, and the ones who do shop local will stay loyal. We'll see, as the Zen master said.
ReplyDeleteThere is The Grocery Store, a DG, a Subway and two gas stations (one with Subway attached) at our little crossroads 45 minutes away from any place with over 1000 people and/or a chain store other than Subway.
DeleteThe Grocery Store has the fresh stuff, bigger fridge/freezer section, and a nice hardware fastener section because it's a long drive to get shit and a lot of cattle/hay farms.
Co-existence between cheap (DG), fresh (TGS) and gay (Subway for the tourists) is possible, and if not there's always The Feed Store or the bar.
The more they debase the currency and increase inflation, the more working class stiffs like us need an affordable place to buy basic groceries and household items. These stores fill that need.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I like about Dollar General is you don't have to get dressed up like when you go to WalMart.
ReplyDelete...Nice....
DeleteIt was raining and too early for my appointment so I went in a dollar store out of curiosity. Found a floor mat to put by the tub, bought it, and got to thinking. Drove to Walmart, found the bathmat in same color, same design and the same price. The only difference was the Walmart mat was twice as big
ReplyDeleteI really laugh at the city people who move out into what used to be the county, complaining about Family Dollar and Dollar General stores.
ReplyDeleteThey don't complain about the twenty gas station/convenience stores in a five mile radius, but boy howdy let there be two Dollar Generals three miles apart and it's all they can complain about (well, not all, as they complain about most everything,including the traffic nightmares they contribute to).
I remember when most of the family farms had some kind of store, even it only sold gas and a few staples. After farming died around here, the stores became the fore runner of modern convenience stores, before Magic Markets, Stop and Go's, and 7/11's sold gas.
I still see the remnants of the little abandoned stores on some of the back roads, but all the ones on the big roads now have been redeveloped into something else, like the tiny lot housing developments that the bitches move into from the city.
When our DG went in about a year ago, it was like we won the mini Walmart jackpot. Prices aren't the best but they're competitive. It's 5 minutes away, town, or Walmart are 25 minutes away, plus time, gas, wear and tear and exposure to vaxxed drivers.
ReplyDeleteWe used to call them Scottsville Walmart. It wasn't an affectionate nick.
ReplyDeleteIf I only need an item or two I'll stop there. It's much quicker than walking a hundred yards or so through a WM store. My wife really liked the place so I used to shop there more often but I noticed the prices on the shelf were lower than what they charged at the register. After that happened one to many times I try to stay out of there.-sammy
ReplyDeleteI've encountered the same problem with posted prices being incorrect at one nearby. The Family Dollar across the busy street doesn't do that.
DeleteI knew a guy that worked for Dollar General at corporate. He said that their model was to target smaller towns that did not have a Walmart or other large grocery store nearby. I don't quite understand why they have 3 or 4 in town, unless they are going for the small town version of a 7-11.
ReplyDeleteWe have 2 super WalMarts and a WalMart Market in town. There are 8 DGs scattered around just outside the city limits.
Delete"first store on the moon" is what i say every time i pass one. spot the dg has become a travel game for us. sadly.
ReplyDeleteUseful when we're on vacation, camping and such and just need a few items that we forgot. Beyond that, not much. If I'm at home I go to a real store.
ReplyDeleteDollar General, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree we have them all and although I seldom shop in any of them I'm for any business that's in competition with that corporate POS Wal-Mart for our business...
ReplyDeleteHell the Family Dollar right up the road just got remodeled earlier this year and from what I've been told added a small fresh vegetable section..
JD
I'll be the turd in the punchbowl here.
ReplyDeleteDollar stores have allowed inner city hoodboogers to move to the suburbs where former inner city residents bootstrapped themselves enough to get out of the city and away from the goddamn hoodboogers.
I never lived much in the country, so I don't know much about it. I was in a Boston suburb where you either commuted to the city to work in the trades or fished commercially. Everyone's grandparents came from Ireland or Italy and were dirt poor. Everyone's parents got out of the ghettos when the blacks moved in and started destroying everything around them, including themselves.
Poor and poorly civilized blacks started moving to the suburbs when Boston went radical leftist in the 90's. The left expanded public transportation, and then the fucking dollar stores moved in. 25 years ago, the nearest store was a 45 minute walk from my home. The nearest bus stop to get to the train station too. There was zero crime because everyone knew everyone, and people on welfare couldn't afford to live there without a car and the ability to travel. Now? Buses everywhere, poor everywhere, crime everywhere. My brother tells me 3 people OD on average in the suburb where we grew up now. My parents' house didn't have a key, right up until we sold it a few years ago after my mom passed on. The locks had rusted and fused 30 years ago. Bars are starting to appear on windows in my old town now.
Like it or not, without cheap shit, people who are different from you won't want to be near you if they can't afford it.
We talk about things falling apart in our civilization, but locally is where it starts. People who can't be civilized are better kept where they can't prey on the rest of us.
Work took me through Wadesboro, NC on US 74 last week. A Super Wallyworld had closed there, leaving only a Food Lion & an IGA as the only two plces you can buy veggies & meat in the entire county, which has around 25K residents or so. And this is only 40 miles east of Charlotte. Hence, I'd assume there are numerous DGs, et al, there.
ReplyDeleteThis was great to watch. His video on 'How Florida got so weird' is a fun video too. Mahalo Kenny! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIqxfBhlwx0
ReplyDelete