There’s a Dollar General Everywhere in the Free World – Except Where I Want One…
This is just one of those open letter blogs... like I am not talking to anyone in particular - just whoever will listen. And since you are reading this, it's YOU.
So, let me start off by saying if you are a DG hater, we probably can't be friends. I love the convenience of the old DG. I grew up in the country and going to the closest Walmart or grocery chain was a 25 minute drive one-way. UGG. Forgot the milk? You can get half-rate cat's milk for $8.99 a gallon at the gas station or drive back in from the middle of nowhere to grab that milk you forgot. Then, one glorious day, long after I left home, they built a DG right down the road. The mecca of all the things you need and nothin' you don't at incredibly reasonable prices.
According to an article from 2017, "By the end of fiscal 2017, management expects that 75% of the U.S. population will be within five miles of a Dollar General location. That three out of every four people in the country will live within a short drive of the retailer's stores demonstrates how entrenched it is. But it also speaks to the survival strategy that the organization has employed, which is to push further into rural areas, building units in cities and towns that are too small for dominant competitor Wal-Mart to bother setting up shop."
Now that we are well into 2019, there should be a DG on every street corner! Every one of them! But guess who is NOT within five miles of a DG! ME! ME ME ME ME! You have to drive all the way to the OTHER SIDE of 261 in Newburgh or go to Chandler or Boonville. That's TOO FAR TOOOOO FAR!
I'm under no grand illusions that others don't think of the DG like a bad skin growth that spreads - I just happen to love the convenience that the store brings. So much so that I wish there was one closer to my home! I live off 261 past Castle High School technically into Boonville. The closest DG is like 10 miles away. Do you hear my whiney voice? That's sooo far. My ultimate wish is that there was a DG in between Newburgh and Boonville... Who's with me?
Dear DG, you can just put it right here, k thanks!