HARLINGEN — Dollar General Corp., with more than 90 stores in the Rio Grande Valley, has filed plans to build several more at locations in Cameron and Hidalgo counties.
Store No. 25807 will be located on Primera Road in Harlingen between El Campo Road and El Paso Drive, store No. 24694 will locate at Highway 100 and Palm Boulevard in Laguna Vista, store No. 25186 will be located on the corner of Mile 2 West and Mile 11 North in Mercedes, and store No. 25055 will be built in the unincorporated La Blanca community.
Also, store No. 25022 is planned for San Juan at North Cesar Chavez Road near Moonlight Avenue, and at Mission, store No. 25041 is planned at FM 681 and Trosper Road.
Each of the sites will be an investment of $600,000 for Dollar General, with construction to begin in March and the stores scheduled to open sometime in the summer, according to documents filed with the state.
Generally, 10 to 15 workers are hired per store.
Although building plans have been filed with the state, a company spokesperson said Wednesday the expansion here in the Valley is not finalized.
A Dollar General staff member reported the company is doing “due diligence” on the possible locations and “we anticipate having a final decision by summer 2023.”
Tennessee-based Dollar General Corp has more than 18,000 stores nationwide with more than 1,700 of those in Texas. There’s at least one Dollar General in 780 Texas towns and cities.
The budget-conscious dollar stores were among of the few businesses to prosper during the pandemic, as shutdowns and long lines elsewhere made these stores more attractive to many shoppers.
Analysts say shoppers during the pandemic bought more items at the dollar stores and also bought higher-priced options as well, boosting the bottom line.
In its SEC filing of third-quarter results Dec. 1, Dollar General executives reported net sales of $9.5 billion for the quarter, up 11.1 percent.
“We are pleased with our strong sales growth in the quarter, as well as a modest increase in customer traffic and continued share gains in both consumable and non-consumable product sales, all of which we believe are a testament to the strength of the value and convenience proposition we offer our customers,” said Jeff Owen, Dollar General’s chief executive officer.
