WILTON — A Tennessee-based corporation is seeking a site review by the Planning Board for development of one of Maine’s first Dollar General stores.
The Planning Board will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 19, at the Town Office.
A sign indicates the proposed site at 409 U.S. Route 2 across from The Big Apple. Construction of a 9,100-square-foot building is planned to start in July, Crystal Ghassemi, spokesman for Dollar General said. Plans may change but for now, they are looking at a fall opening, she said.
The property is owned by Jonathan and Patricia Haggan of Farmington, according to the application. The company will lease the property and building, Ghassemi said.
Plans include 7,300 square feet of sales space. The store will employ six to 10 people and be open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., she said.
“We’re an American general store,” she said. “We sell everything you need.”
About 25 percent of the products cost a dollar or less, she said. The stores offer an array of items, including groceries, perishables, basic apparel, health and beauty, seasonal items, paper and cleaning supplies and laundry items.
“The business is based on value and convenience,” she said.
The company has developed over 11,300 stores, all company owned, she said. This year, it is celebrating its 75th anniversary after starting in Scottsville, Ky., in 1939 as a wholesale business. It developed as a retailer in 1955.
After opening a distribution center in Pennsylvania to serve the Northeast, the company recently announced plans to open stores in Maine and Rhode Island.
A successful expansion in the southeast, where the company started, led them to slowly start developing in the Northeast and other states, she said.
“We’ve been well received in the Northeast,” she said. “We’re looking forward to serving Maine communities.”
The corporate motto is “serve others,” she said. The company has a literacy foundation that provides schools with grants. Over $6 million was given out this spring with another round of grants to be given in August.
Dollar General is committed to helping individuals learn to read, prepare for the GED or learn English, according to their website.
The store is also active in giving back to the community by holding toy drives for the holidays, school supply drives to help local school children and food drives for local food pantries, she said.
abryant@sunjournal.com
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- A sign marks the proposed site of a Dollar General store on U.S. Route 2 in Wilton.
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- A sign marks the proposed site of a Dollar General store on U.S. Route 2 in Wilton.
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