RED BAY – Red Bay residents officially have a new “one-stop shop” after the Dollar General Market held its grand opening this past Saturday.
Store manager Jeff Reid said the grand opening went over much better than he even hoped and he appreciated the support Red Bay residents were already giving the new business.
“Saturday was just overwhelming,” Reid said. “We had so many people show up and everyone I talked to had such positive things to say about the store. They really did seem to be impressed with that we have to offer.”
Those who haven’t been to a Dollar General Market probably aren’t alone. According to Reid, the Red Bay store is only one of 90 such stores in the Unites States at this time.
“Six or seven years ago, Dollar General test-marketed these stores to see if they would go over well,” Reid said. “They stopped doing that about three years ago but they’ve started back up and they’ll have 109 Dollar General Markets open by the end of this year and 200 open by the end of next year.”
Reid said the store features all the same products customers are used to seeing at regular Dollar General stores like clothing, home items and over-the-counter-medicines. The difference in a regular store and a Dollar General Market comes in the expanded grocery section.
“Our store features a meat section, a dairy section, frozen foods and fresh produce in addition to other grocery items,” Reid said. “The fresh produce has been one of the things I’ve received the most compliments on since the store’s opening. People seem to be satisfied with the produce we offer.”
Reid, who worked at another local grocery store before joining the Dollar General team, said he is excited about the opportunity to manage a store that offers a variety of items all in one location.
“I first found out about the management opportunity from the lady who was the manager of the regular store,” Reid said. “She told me they were needing a manager for the new store who had grocery experience so I decided to apply for the position and was excited to find out I had gotten it.
“I know this will be a good thing for our city and I’m just glad I’m able to be a part of that.”
Reid is from Red Bay and previously served as a city councilman and the city’s mayor so he said he’s well aware of the need the city had for a store like the Dollar General Market.
“We don’t have anything else like this in Red Bay so hopefully it will be a good way to keep people shopping here at home instead of traveling to another city,” he said.
“I know it can be frustrating to stop at two or three different stores just to get the things you need, so I hope this will be a convenient alternative to people needing to get grocery items and other things all in one trip.”
Red Bay Mayor Bobby Forsythe said he was excited about the new business and the possibilities it offered for his town.
“I am very proud for our city to have a quality business to come in and compliment the stores we already have here,” Forsythe said. “It gives our residents some choices when they need to do their shopping.”
Reid said the opening of the store created approximately 20 new jobs, which is something Forsythe was also happy to see.
“In these tough economic times, it’s good to see new job opportunities for our citizens,” Forsythe said. “I think this will be a good addition to our town all-around.”
Reid said even though many of Red Bay’s residents have already been to the store to see what they have to offer, he hopes more people will come out in the weeks to come.
“I know a lot of people haven’t shopped at a Dollar General Market before so they don’t know what to expect, but if you haven’t been by to see us yet, I just encourage you to come and check us out,” Reid said. “I think this store is going to be something great for our city and something the citizens will really be glad to have.”