Dollar General holds grand opening
By JOE L. HUGHES II Ledger Staff Writer joe@gaffneyledger.com

Dollar General store manager Paul "Dat" Sleep wipes counters inside the retailer's Chesnee Highway location prior to its grand opening Friday.

Shopping may have become easier for local consumers with the arrival of another Dollar General store on Chesnee Highway.

The new 9,014-square-foot retail store will be the fourth Dollar General location to open in Gaffney. Festivities celebrating its opening are scheduled for this weekend.

"We are excited about opening the store," said Emily Weiss of Dollar General. "It is an opportunity for us to provide a convenient shopping choice for those in the community."

Dollar General stores primarily focus on providing customers with a large selection of food, housewares, seasonal items, cleaning supplies and other products. A third of items found in the store are sold for $1 or less.

But Weiss said the store has another trick up its sleeve — creating a new layout that makes shopping easier for customers.

"We always are looking to make shopping simple and affordable," Weiss said.

Studies of demographic trends, traffic patterns and other factors are among the things Dollar General officials look for when seeking to establish new stores.

"Typically our stores serve customers within a five-mile radius," Weiss said. "But we are always looking for new opportunities."

Education is also high on the Dollar General priority list. Each of the retail chain's 8,000 stores serve as a place anyone can learn to read and where one can take General Education Diploma classes and the GED test following the course.

The store is located at 1222 Chesnee Highway. Grand opening festivities began at 9 a.m. Friday.