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I don't know about other areas, but here in the middle of Oklahoma the Dollar Generals have been a real positive. There's a lot of rural areas where a Walmart c

I don't know about other areas, but here in the middle of Oklahoma the Dollar Generals have been a real positive. There's a lot of rural areas where a Walmart came in, then folded later. It left a 1-2 hour drive to get buy any kind of "real" food. The DG stores here have been expanding to include an actual grocery section, including fresh produce and (limited) fresh meat. More is available frozen. They have excellent prices on canned goods. Are they as good as a full grocery store? No, but they're a _lot_ better than the gas station/convenience store and its endless supply of deep-fried burritos...and also the only alternative.

DocFeind 8y ago
I spent a few years in Texas and often travel by road cross country. I do have to say, finding a dollar store chain of local is a blessing in the big empty in-between.
- kijin 8y ago
  Dollar stores are like fast food franchises. They're cheap and probably unhealthy, but their inventory is highly predictable.
  - nate_meurer 8y ago
    Good point, reliability is key. Selection is narrow, limited by space, but they have a little of everything. Healthy food is easy to find at these stores. I can put together a perfectly good home cooked meal from Dollar General no problem. Baking goods, dry goods, dairy, produce... again the selection is smaller than a larger grocer, but it's all there.
  - WildGreenLeave 8y ago
    Is a Dollar store in the US comparable to a 7-eleven from Asia? I don't live anywhere where they have either a Dollar store or a 7-eleven, I've only learned about the 7-eleven concept on my last trip to Bangkok.
    - briandh 8y ago
      Dollar General has a much larger selection than an Asian 7-Eleven. It has "real groceries" (albeit a small selection) and many non-food goods like detergent, toys, shampoo, even cell phones and a small variety of clothing. It's kind of like they got a list of the top 10% best-selling items at Wal-Mart and made a store out of it. Dollar Tree (and Family Dollar IIRC) are a bit different because unlike Dollar General each item is actually a dollar. They're a bit more akin to Daiso, if you visited any of those in Thailand, though again with a bit more food (though less than Dollar General, and in smaller packages).
      - aiisjustanif 8y ago
        > Dollar General has a much larger selection than an Asian 7-Eleven. That is surely because a 7-11 in say Japan, Korea, or China are part of vertical, dense infrastructure. You don't have miles of space in between things. And I would be curious if Dollar General has that much more of a selection compared to some of the big 7-11 I've visited in Seoul.
        briandh 8y ago
        Maybe I haven't visited the right ones, but none of the 7-Eleven (or FamilyMart, Lawson, OKmart, or CU) stores I visited in South Korea, Taiwan, or Japan had selections that close to those of the Dollar General stores I've patronized. In my subjective judgement, the difference is pretty big. This is not a knock on them, of course, just difference in business model, and as you say, regional/market context.
  - your-nanny 8y ago
    Dollar General is not a dollar store.
war1025 8y ago
Here in rural Iowa, Dollar General also has claimed the niche of "less stuff, but also nearby". You can either drive 5 minutes into town and go to the Dollar General for most of your basic needs, or you can drive a half hour to the nearest city with a Walmart / Target / etc. I really quite like stopping by to grab a quick thing or two. Around here, there tends to be a local grocery chain in the same vicinity, so generally I'd pick there for more traditional grocery foods. But ran out of toothpaste or need a pack of diapers? Dollar General is the place to go.
- brad0 8y ago
  I’m curious, what do you do for work in Iowa?
  - i_am_nomad 8y ago
    I’m curious too, and a bit jealous.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - war1025 8y ago
    I live in what would be considered more urban Iowa. I work in the ISU Research Park [1] for a company doing software development. My brother lives in our hometown and works as an industrial engineer at a plant that makes bio fertilizer and pesticide products [2]. We also have a sock factory in town, which I think is pretty neat [3]. Iowa really has a pretty diverse and thriving economy. It's a good place. [1] http://www.isupark.org/tenant-directory/ http://www.isupark.org/tenant-directory/ [2] https://www.valentbiosciences.com/about/osage-plant/ https://www.valentbiosciences.com/about/osage-plant/ [3] https://www.foxsox.com/ https://www.foxsox.com/
    - froindt 8y ago
      That research park has really grown in the last 5 years! I'm finishing up my masters degree online, but it was always interesting to see how it grew while I was on campus. I networked with people from Workiva, Vermeer, and Proplanner over the years. John Deere is in the mix too now (which was natural with how much research they fund on campus).
NicoJuicy 8y ago
Aren't there any local (small) stores? I can't believe everything has to be a big "chain". Here in Europe, there are a lot of SMB's that fill in the gap of "fresh food". Although they are a little bit more expensive, they are always good enough to fill this requirement.
- eikenberry 8y ago
  There were. The problem is that Walmart moved in and drove them all out of business, then realized that the market wasn't big enough and closed the stores leaving nothing.
- fgheorghe 8y ago
  In western europe these small stores, called off license in the uk, are usually cheap and low quality. Often selling counterfit products or expired food.
- mawburn 8y ago
  Small stores in rural areas are overpriced, understocked, regularly have expired products, and often close around 6pm. I've literally ran into store owners in Walmart who buy things there and just mark them up 2-3x. But to be fair, they really have no other options unless they drive a couple hundred miles. DG pops up in extremely rural areas that no real store wants to go, not even gas stations. I know several in towns of 100-200 people that are 40-50 miles from anything resembling a town.
- ohithereyou 8y ago
  It seems that grocery stores are consolidating into the big chains. We had a couple of IGA[1] grocery stores in the town I grew up in - locally owned and operated grocery stores that were much more responsive to customer demands. Now there are none. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IGA_(supermarkets) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IGA_(supermarkets)
mawburn 8y ago
I have a lot of family in rural Arkansas and Dollar General has been a life changer for them. It's only about 30minutes to Walmart or a grocery store, but that can huge hassle for small things or late night medicine.
- akudha 8y ago
  Lived in NYC for a few years - I had everything (bank, pharmacy, multiple starbucks, multiple restaurants, gyms, swimming pools ....) within half mile radius. I can't even imagine driving 30 mins to get groceries. Totally different world!
  - skapadia 8y ago
    I agree - I live in a suburb outside of Philly, King of Prussia, where I get EVERYTHING I need, and more, within a 5-10 minute drive. In fact per capita there's an excess of options.
- LyndsySimon 8y ago
  I happens on a smaller scale, too. I’m also in rural Arkansas, and about 15 minutes from Walmart. I’m 5 minutes from Harp’s, and with basically no traffic in that direction. I tend to go to Harp’s.
rjdagost 8y ago
You are absolutely correct. I do long distance bicycle rides through rural areas. When you've been riding for hours without signs of civilization (other than the road itself), a Dollar General that pops up in the middle of nowhere is a godsend. You CAN get fresh food and healthy groceries there at good prices. Whole Foods it ain't, but I wouldn't expect that due to the different income levels of the shoppers of the respective stores. I give Dollar General and related stores a lot of credit- they have found a way to thrive in underserved markets. The author has apparently never shopped at a Dollar General or a Family Dollar, because she thinks that these are dollar stores, and she doesn't seem to know that these stores sell many types of products other than food. It gives her article the tone of uninformed snobbery- "I don't even know what these stores sell or for how much, but I know what is best for poor communities".
- newyankee 8y ago
  I was actually driving through rural Wyoming when on a roadtrip and could not find any store when i needed to pick up some essentials. Luckily we came across a Dollar general store in a desolate mining town where the only other establishments included a few gas stations, not even typical fast food joints.
Tsubasachan 8y ago
Stories like this are a great read. I live in a country were everyone has at least three supermarkets in a 5 kilometre radius. Its easy to take fresh food for granted.

DocFeind 8y ago

I spent a few years in Texas and often travel by road cross country. I do have to say, finding a dollar store chain of local is a blessing in the big empty in-between.

kijin 8y ago
Dollar stores are like fast food franchises. They're cheap and probably unhealthy, but their inventory is highly predictable.
- nate_meurer 8y ago
  Good point, reliability is key. Selection is narrow, limited by space, but they have a little of everything. Healthy food is easy to find at these stores. I can put together a perfectly good home cooked meal from Dollar General no problem. Baking goods, dry goods, dairy, produce... again the selection is smaller than a larger grocer, but it's all there.
- WildGreenLeave 8y ago
  Is a Dollar store in the US comparable to a 7-eleven from Asia? I don't live anywhere where they have either a Dollar store or a 7-eleven, I've only learned about the 7-eleven concept on my last trip to Bangkok.
  - briandh 8y ago
    Dollar General has a much larger selection than an Asian 7-Eleven. It has "real groceries" (albeit a small selection) and many non-food goods like detergent, toys, shampoo, even cell phones and a small variety of clothing. It's kind of like they got a list of the top 10% best-selling items at Wal-Mart and made a store out of it. Dollar Tree (and Family Dollar IIRC) are a bit different because unlike Dollar General each item is actually a dollar. They're a bit more akin to Daiso, if you visited any of those in Thailand, though again with a bit more food (though less than Dollar General, and in smaller packages).
    - aiisjustanif 8y ago
      > Dollar General has a much larger selection than an Asian 7-Eleven. That is surely because a 7-11 in say Japan, Korea, or China are part of vertical, dense infrastructure. You don't have miles of space in between things. And I would be curious if Dollar General has that much more of a selection compared to some of the big 7-11 I've visited in Seoul.
      - briandh 8y ago
        Maybe I haven't visited the right ones, but none of the 7-Eleven (or FamilyMart, Lawson, OKmart, or CU) stores I visited in South Korea, Taiwan, or Japan had selections that close to those of the Dollar General stores I've patronized. In my subjective judgement, the difference is pretty big. This is not a knock on them, of course, just difference in business model, and as you say, regional/market context.
- your-nanny 8y ago
  Dollar General is not a dollar store.

war1025 8y ago

Here in rural Iowa, Dollar General also has claimed the niche of "less stuff, but also nearby". You can either drive 5 minutes into town and go to the Dollar General for most of your basic needs, or you can drive a half hour to the nearest city with a Walmart / Target / etc. I really quite like stopping by to grab a quick thing or two. Around here, there tends to be a local grocery chain in the same vicinity, so generally I'd pick there for more traditional grocery foods. But ran out of toothpaste or need a pack of diapers? Dollar General is the place to go.

brad0 8y ago
I’m curious, what do you do for work in Iowa?
- i_am_nomad 8y ago
  I’m curious too, and a bit jealous.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- war1025 8y ago
  I live in what would be considered more urban Iowa. I work in the ISU Research Park [1] for a company doing software development. My brother lives in our hometown and works as an industrial engineer at a plant that makes bio fertilizer and pesticide products [2]. We also have a sock factory in town, which I think is pretty neat [3]. Iowa really has a pretty diverse and thriving economy. It's a good place. [1] http://www.isupark.org/tenant-directory/ http://www.isupark.org/tenant-directory/ [2] https://www.valentbiosciences.com/about/osage-plant/ https://www.valentbiosciences.com/about/osage-plant/ [3] https://www.foxsox.com/ https://www.foxsox.com/
  - froindt 8y ago
    That research park has really grown in the last 5 years! I'm finishing up my masters degree online, but it was always interesting to see how it grew while I was on campus. I networked with people from Workiva, Vermeer, and Proplanner over the years. John Deere is in the mix too now (which was natural with how much research they fund on campus).

NicoJuicy 8y ago

Aren't there any local (small) stores? I can't believe everything has to be a big "chain". Here in Europe, there are a lot of SMB's that fill in the gap of "fresh food". Although they are a little bit more expensive, they are always good enough to fill this requirement.

eikenberry 8y ago
There were. The problem is that Walmart moved in and drove them all out of business, then realized that the market wasn't big enough and closed the stores leaving nothing.
fgheorghe 8y ago
In western europe these small stores, called off license in the uk, are usually cheap and low quality. Often selling counterfit products or expired food.
mawburn 8y ago
Small stores in rural areas are overpriced, understocked, regularly have expired products, and often close around 6pm. I've literally ran into store owners in Walmart who buy things there and just mark them up 2-3x. But to be fair, they really have no other options unless they drive a couple hundred miles. DG pops up in extremely rural areas that no real store wants to go, not even gas stations. I know several in towns of 100-200 people that are 40-50 miles from anything resembling a town.
ohithereyou 8y ago
It seems that grocery stores are consolidating into the big chains. We had a couple of IGA[1] grocery stores in the town I grew up in - locally owned and operated grocery stores that were much more responsive to customer demands. Now there are none. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IGA_(supermarkets) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IGA_(supermarkets)

mawburn 8y ago

I have a lot of family in rural Arkansas and Dollar General has been a life changer for them. It's only about 30minutes to Walmart or a grocery store, but that can huge hassle for small things or late night medicine.

akudha 8y ago
Lived in NYC for a few years - I had everything (bank, pharmacy, multiple starbucks, multiple restaurants, gyms, swimming pools ....) within half mile radius. I can't even imagine driving 30 mins to get groceries. Totally different world!
- skapadia 8y ago
  I agree - I live in a suburb outside of Philly, King of Prussia, where I get EVERYTHING I need, and more, within a 5-10 minute drive. In fact per capita there's an excess of options.
LyndsySimon 8y ago
I happens on a smaller scale, too. I’m also in rural Arkansas, and about 15 minutes from Walmart. I’m 5 minutes from Harp’s, and with basically no traffic in that direction. I tend to go to Harp’s.

rjdagost 8y ago

You are absolutely correct. I do long distance bicycle rides through rural areas. When you've been riding for hours without signs of civilization (other than the road itself), a Dollar General that pops up in the middle of nowhere is a godsend. You CAN get fresh food and healthy groceries there at good prices. Whole Foods it ain't, but I wouldn't expect that due to the different income levels of the shoppers of the respective stores. I give Dollar General and related stores a lot of credit- they have found a way to thrive in underserved markets. The author has apparently never shopped at a Dollar General or a Family Dollar, because she thinks that these are dollar stores, and she doesn't seem to know that these stores sell many types of products other than food. It gives her article the tone of uninformed snobbery- "I don't even know what these stores sell or for how much, but I know what is best for poor communities".

newyankee 8y ago
I was actually driving through rural Wyoming when on a roadtrip and could not find any store when i needed to pick up some essentials. Luckily we came across a Dollar general store in a desolate mining town where the only other establishments included a few gas stations, not even typical fast food joints.

Tsubasachan 8y ago

Stories like this are a great read. I live in a country were everyone has at least three supermarkets in a 5 kilometre radius. Its easy to take fresh food for granted.