Dollar General opening location in New Bloomfield, expected to open September 2015

Dollar General is opening a location in New Bloomfield. The discount retailer will begin construction this spring. Excavation, weather permitting, will begin on the building currently located on the property this Friday. The 9,000 square-foot store is set to open at the end of September 2015.

The store, which will carry typical household items and groceries, will be located on the northeast side of Route J, across from Bank Star One and just off the New Bloomfield highway exit.

While the store will not carry fresh produce and fresh meat, Terra Guittar, New Bloomfield city clerk and municipal court clerk, said it will carry milk and frozen food items which New Bloomfield residents currently have to leave town to purchase.

"It's a great resource for everyone here. It's going to be a huge convenience," Guittar said with excitement of the store's future presence in the community.

Regarding the store's products, Dollar General Corporation Spokesperson Dan MacDonald said it will carry "staples" such as eggs, milk, cheese, canned vegetables and other packaged and frozen food items. It will also carry paper products, health and beauty products, over the counter medication, office supplies and some apparel.

"It's amazing how much we put in that little box," MacDonald said of the store's inventory.

He added that Dollar General thinks of itself as a neighborhood general store and works to offer a wide-variety of products. He said the retailer is "focused on serving the under served." The company likes to open stores in areas where residents have few shopping and grocery options.

"(We open) where we think there is a need for what we provide," MacDonald said. "Our bread and butter as a company is meeting the needs of customers in small towns."

While Dollar General has a presence in larger communities, he said it has been most successful in smaller cities.

Dollar General will have a long-term lease with a developer who will serve as the lot's owner, Guittar said. The developer - RSBR Investments LLC out of West Plains, Missouri - purchased the property across from Bank Star One from Nancy West and her brother Terry Howell.

The siblings inherited the house, which currently stands on the property, and the lot from their parents Frank and Berniece Howell.

West said she believes her parents, whom she described as active parts of the community, would be pleased with Dollar General being the business to occupy their family's property.

"I'm very pleased and my parents would be happy. It will benefit the whole town of New Bloomfield," West said.

The property, West said, has been in her family since about the 1930s when her grandparents purchased the lot. Her childhood home currently on the property was built in the 1950s. After both of their parents died, West and Terry Howell rented the home out for multiple years.

Last year, West, who still lives in New Bloomfield, and her brother, who moved to Illinois, decided to sell their family's land. They rezoned the lot to commercial in the fall when the developer approached them about buying the land. While the developer approached the brother and sister in the fall, West said they didn't officially know what commercial entity would be occupying the land until this week.

New Bloomfield currently only has one convenience store in city limits. Guittar said residents have to travel to neighboring cities like Fulton, Holts Summit and Jefferson City for most grocery shopping. She added that Dollar General's presence in the New Bloomfield community won't eliminate the trips residents make for shopping in neighboring towns, but it will provide a more convenient location to pickup household items and some groceries.

West said she hopes Dollar General's decision to build in New Bloomfield will encourage other businesses to consider the city as well.

"I'm really thrilled," West said of the announcement. "Maybe it will be the beginning of other businesses wanting to come to New Bloomfield."

The store's grand opening is set for October. It will employ 6-10 employees.

MacDonald said that while he could not comment on the specific process for deciding to open in New Bloomfield, generally, the company considers a list of factors when choosing locations for new stores.

That list includes:

•The city's population;

•How many people live within a 10-minute drive;

•The population's median income; and

•Nearby competition.

MacDonald said Dollar General is excited to open another location, especially in a town so close to its Distribution Center, which is located in Fulton.