The company recently opened a Central Square location and is working to open another one in Phoenix. They operate 18,000 stores nationwide
By Stefan Yablonski
Dollar General has become the go-to retailer in many rural communities. The company now has 18,000 stores, including 13 in Oswego County with the recent grand opening of a new store in Central Square — with one more planned for 2025.
Dollar General caters to rural shoppers who don’t have easy access to a store.
“They have targeted underserved areas, mostly rural areas,” said Liz Schmitt, a professor of economics at SUNY Oswego and currently the chairperson of the Oswego Faculty Assembly.
“One popped up in Minetto. It’s good for people; they don’t have to drive into Oswego or Fulton for certain things.”
The stores fill a void in rural retail desserts, Schmitt said, adding there are also urban retail deserts; places where a grocery store has moved out of some areas, for example. These stores fill the void.
Zoning can some times be an issue. “Some places may not want a big box store and the traffic it’s going to bring,” she said. “But a Dollar General isn’t going to have that kind of traffic, which can make it attractive.”
The new store, at 794 US Route 11 in Central Square, held its grand opening event on Nov. 2. It will create new jobs in the Central Square community — approximately six to 10 people, depending on the individual needs of the store, according to a company spokesperson.
“At Dollar General, we believe the addition of our new Central Square store provides positive economic growth for the community through the creation of new jobs and career growth opportunities; increased accessibility to affordable products; the generation of tax revenue and access to Dollar General Literacy Foundation grants,” Matthew Simonsen, Dollar General’s senior vice president of real estate and store development, said in an email. “As part of our mission of ‘serving others,’ we look forward to being a strong business partner and good neighbor, as well as welcoming customers to our new store.”
First Store in Constantia
Dollar General opened its first location in Oswego County 2003 in Constantia. Its growth has been measured to the market as demanded by customers.
It now operates a baker’s dozen stores across the county in Sandy Creek, Pulaski, Parish, Constantia, Mexico, Palermo, New Haven, Fulton, Minetto, Hannibal, Altmar, the town of Oswego and now Central Square.
“We view ourselves as America’s neighborhood general store, filling accessibility and affordability gaps by offering quality products at everyday low prices in a conveniently located, easy to shop environment,” said Emma Hall, Dollar General’s public relations coordinator. “With our 85-year history grounded in the small town of Scottsville, Kentucky, Dollar General understands the unique needs of customers in rural areas, often in communities that other retailers either cannot or have chosen not to serve. In fact, approximately 80% of our 20,000-plus stores serve communities with a population of 20,000 or less.”
“Dollar General strives to be a good neighbor and is committed to the communities it calls home — evidenced by unwavering support of literacy and education initiatives through the Dollar General Literacy Foundation,” Hall said.
The addition of the Central Square store opens the opportunity for schools, nonprofit organizations and libraries within a 15-mile radius of the store to apply for Dollar General Literacy Foundation grants, she said.
Since its inception in 1993, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $254 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 21.8 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy or continued education.
These stores can’t compete with a Walmart or an online giant like Amazon, according to Schmitt, the SUNY Oswego professor.
“These stores are tiny compared to the Amazon or Walmart super center. So where do they find their niche? They locate in under-served areas,” she said. “They have a lower income clientele — these people are also usually left out of e-commerce, credit cards, Venmo.
“These people don’t stock up. People go to Costco to buy enormous amounts of toilet paper. When others ran out, Dollar General still had it because the shoppers they attract don’t have a place to store a large amount or have the money to buy bulk amounts. You go to a Dollar General, you’ll get the brand of cereal that’s there; they can’t compete with say the variety at a Walmart where you expect to see just about every type of cereal that’s ever made.”
New store in Phoenix on the horizon
“Dollar General is always looking for opportunities to add new locations and extend our mission of serving others,” Hall said. “In fact, the company is currently under construction on a new DG market location in Oswego County located on Volney Street in Phoenix. At this time, a store opening is slated for spring 2025. But understand that construction progress may alter this date.”
Can a company sustain such continued growth?
“This is a problem,” Schmitt said. “Retailers typically strive for growth. There’s got to be a breaking point. We’ll find out when some start closing. If they over-grow they’ll have to scale back and we have seen that with drug stores. We’ve seen a lot of big box stores driven out by consolidation.”
Dollar General Literacy Foundation Awards Over $4 Million in Grants
As of August, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation awarded more than $4 million to support over 730 schools, libraries and nonprofit organizations in the communities that Dollar General calls home, according to Denine Torr, executive director of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.
“We understand investing in youth literacy means investing in the future of students and our collective communities,” Torr said. “Through these grants, we hope to enhance the programs’ efforts to foster students’ critical thinking skills, creativity and confidence so they can unlock their potential and achieve their dreams.”
Expecting to positively impact more than 380,000 students across the continental United States, recipients plan to use the funds to purchase books, technology, equipment or materials to help extend a brighter future for K-12 students.
The newest round of grants complement the foundation’s more than $10.6 million grant announcement in May to support adult, family and summer literacy programs — which reflected a milestone of serving more than 20 million individuals since its inception.
The foundation also hosted its fifth annual Yellow Glasses Project through Sept. 8. Customers purchased yellow sunglasses at Dollar General stores for $2 each and all proceeds benefit the foundation.
For more information about the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and its grant programs, visit www.dgliteracy.com.
