Dollar General's are a franchise operation so the owner is probably local. Be prepared to have several in the same area as they do not seem to limit the number of stores in an area.

I have one in walking distance, and use it quite often. :)

It seems that every small town in NC has a Dollar General. I like it for quick stops.

We have three close to us, a mile apart from each other on the same street. They are everywhere!

You can use either their website or their app to set up a DG account. You can add digital manufacturers coupons that link to your phone number which you punch in the register when checking out. They also offer a $5 off $25 coupon that is only good on Saturdays. The $25 is before coupons. Sometimes by combining all of these coupons I pay $4 for 8-9 items. It’s simple at Checkout-just enter your phone number and they come off. I use it mainly for laundry and cleaning items. They usually have a $5/$30 in Gain products that works in conjunction with the others. There is a FB group Dollar General Digital Coupons Only I check that on Fridays or on Saturday Morning And put together a Saturday Scenario. A few weeks ago my total was $4 and the young male cashier said - wow, that was awesome!

I love DG. I get most of my staples there. Quick in and out.

With the number of DG's being placed in small towns they are now the Walmart's that people hate because they forced other businesses out. People who would never shop at Walmart are very happy to shop at DG's. Most I am seeing in small towns are those that are too small to support Walmart's. I do have concerns at the number of franchises that are being placed in each area.

I'm interested in comments since we own a Dollar General in Texas. So far it's been a very good investment. We live in Southern CA and don't have many around us.

I really don't see how Dollar General stores are forcing any other store out of business. They are small stores that most people go to for convenience. not to do a majority of their shopping. I used to live near a small town, pop. 1,900. that had a DG at one end of Main Street and a Family Dollar at the other end. Both of them had a good amount of customers, and different merchandise.

I shop Dollar General, quite often. They are willing to fill the void, in small towns, and poorer neighborhoods.

We don't have a Dollar General in my neighborhood in L.A., but there is the Tokyo Japanese Outlet Store on Sawtelle in WLA that is somewhat similar. I used to go to Marukai 98¢ Store in Gardena, but they raised their price to $1.49 the last time I was there. I did get a lot of Japanese ceramics, including rice bowls, that I could not find elsewhere. I had to go to a different store in WLA to get sushi sets, however.

There is a Dollar Tree Store in Cathedral City close to my house here, but I haven't been to it yet. Kevin went once and bought tissues, but they did not have toilet paper.

In my town, we have one local grocery store that is part of a chain. Because they are the only option in town, their prices are ridiculously high. A few years ago, a dollar store opened up in town, while they don't offer fresh produce or meat, they do offer brand name canned goods, dairy, eggs, frozen foods, cleaning supplies and personal care products such as soap and shampoo. During the TP shortage, they were the only place in town that actually had TP and paper towels in stock. Their prices are much more reasonable than the grocery store, and they do fill a void, especially for those who cannot afford the local grocery store prices and who do not have the means to travel out of town to shop in larger towns in the area.

To be honest, we'd never heard of Dollar General prior to our purchase in TX. Or, maybe if the name ever came up, I might have just thought Dollar Tree. We had to do some pretty extensive research. The closest DG to us is about 25 minutes away. The stores have fared well through these past 3 months.

Ive read DGs were hiring thousands due to the uptick in business with covid. Chloebud do you get penny shoppers there? I see there are groups dedicated to finding hidden Penny items. Even during the worst of the pandemic spending lots of time scanning items. That doesn’t sit rightWith me given the current situation. Why expose yourself and your family And the workers over a few cents.

Lisa, we heard DG planned to hire some 50K new employees due to business increasing with Covid. We've been under the impression the penny shopping had been stopped temporarily, but I'm not sure if that was with every store. It certainly makes sense to do everything possible to reduce the amount of time customers spend in the store.

What is penny shopping?

I would have thought that if Dollar General stores have had increased business during this pandemic it is because they are such small stores, so that one can expect to get in and out in very little time, risking a lesser amount of exposure.

I went there with my wife once to as her sister had told her they had some kind of hidden gem jeans, but she did not find them. I think we've bought stuff like aspirin, soap, broom, pens, paper. I don't think of going there, normally.

"A few years ago, a dollar store opened up in town..."

Dawn, did you mean Dollar General by any chance? I ask that because the last sentence of your post was very significant on our list of "pros" when we were considering purchasing a Dollar General.

I have a Dollar General not far from my house. It's really easy to run in for paper towels, cleaners, detergent, etc. They have a lot of name brands, it's steady but not busy, and the parking lot is not too crowded. I can be in and out in minutes. Granted, I'm just buying essentials, but the prices are good and it is really convenient.

A "dollar" store is TOTALLY different than Dollar General. Many people confuse them. Dollar General is NOT every item $1.00. It is more like a general store, lots of different items for everyone. LOVE MY DG.

chloebud, yes, I did. Sorry, I should have been more specific. There was some concern when they first opened up and there were a few rough spots, but they have proven to be an asset to the community. I have read that there are plans for Dollar General to start offering limited fresh produce (can't recall if that is in all stores or some stores) which would make them more of an asset to those of limited income.

Thanks, Dawn. The wording in your post is so close to what our realtor told us, and our own research.

Judy, yes...lots of people confuse the two stores. I certainly did at first!

One of these "Dollars" (General, I think) has had some problems with the SEC. I don't recall if it was before or after Trump's pal David Perdue was CEO. I've heard that nearly half the products are made in China -- no different from lots of American stores. There was also something about pricing being higher than Walmart or Costco; can't remember. There are TONS of these stores EVERYWHERE. (Reminds me of when Walgreens was seemingly putting a store on every corner.)

chloebud -- Do I understand that you own the property and rent to DG? Your research involved whether it was a viable tenant?

Following.

chisue, he was CEO Dollar General. After Dave Perdue left, 1% of the stockholders filed a suit , because they weren't happy with their stock earnings of $22 per share, even though 99% apparently were happy. The company opened almost 3,000 new stores during his tenure as CEO. It was Pillowtex, I believe where the company folded after he left.

I don't know if he's a friend of the President's, or what that would have to do with anything.

Rose, here's a tip for you when shopping there. Years ago I had a job working for a wholesaler who sold to what were then called "99 Cent stores," which were basically the same thing. We had a little showroom in the office so we could see the merchandise we were pushing. The best quality merchandise was often in the very worst packaging. That's why it ended up having to be deep discounted. Maybe it was candy in a package that looked unappetizing. Or it was kitchen tools in cellophane wrap that was cloudy or damaged. Or the package said "Summer Special" in the winter. It might also be a name brand with a package offering a bonus size, long after that promotion had been discontinued. It's not always true, but it's true often enough that it pays to be on the lookout for bad packaging.

"chloebud -- Do I understand that you own the property and rent to DG? Your research involved whether it was a viable tenant?"

Yes, they're our tenant, and of course we always check viability. We've owned other commercial properties for some years with DG being the most recent in 2016. Along with DG, the properties are all under a triple net lease, so our tenants also pay taxes, maintenance and insurance. We've always considered it a must-have since it's worked nicely for us from the start. We also like that DG always sends the rent early.