Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013

Dollar General Market Opening possible before summer

Dollar General Market will open at 485 N. Mercey Springs Road between April and July, depending on how the weather affects construction.

The site plan for the general merchandise store was approved by the Planning Commission last year and construction is expected to begin soon.

"Prior to Christmas rolling around, I was talking to them and they said they were waiting for things to dry out before they started. Back then it was when we had all that rain," Community Development Director Paula Fitzgerald said.

She said construction crews surveyed the land earlier this month. Pre-construction soil grading took place Tuesday.

Fitzgerald said Dollar General Market will open in three to four months. Crystal Ghassemi, a company spokeswoman, said the store is scheduled to open in July, depending on how much rainfall the area gets during construction.

In 2011, Dollar General Corp. announced it was expanding its business to California. The chain built its 10,000th store in Merced last year. Next month, it will open a Dollar General Market in Dos Palos on Elgin Avenue.

"These two new locations were a great fit for Dollar General," Ghassemi said. "Meeting our customers' needs is our top priority when choosing store locations. We look for places where we can offer customers an easy and convenient shopping choice. We know convenience is a major factor in our customers' shopping decisions as we generally serve customers within a 3- to 5-mile radius, or 10-minute drive."

In Los Banos, the 20,951-square-foot project will be built on 2.58 acres at the intersection of Mercey Springs Road and Santa Barbara Street. The store will be a block north of New Canaan Baptist Church. In 2008, members of the church objected to Rite Aid's relocation plans. The congregation was fearful patrons buying hard liquor would cause problems. Rite Aid put its relocation from Pacheco Boulevard on hold because of the economy.

Dollar General Market stores offer an expanded array of home goods and clothing and grocery store items. It is a store with discounted items, not a dollar store. The store does sell beer and wine at some locations, but it is unclear if alcohol will be sold at the Los Banos site.

Dollar General Market plans to hire 35 to 40 employees, including five full-time managers.