The Dollar General store in Pine Grove is open! The Grand Opening was held, and flyers are showing up in our mailboxes.
The parking lot has a few cars in it. Probably not many belong to employees- they don’t hire many, and I have concern for the health and well-being of the “manager”. Dollar General has had difficulties over the years which hasn’t helped their reputation.
It’s not another Dollar Tree. A lot of what they sell is more than a dollar. Seeing the prices will put one in a mindset right away to start making comparisons to regular stores. In my walking around, I overheard comments that the prices weren’t that great, and people were walking out empty-handed. But convenience will be a factor, and the store will no doubt do ok.
Across the street is the Pine Grove Market, an institution in the area for years. It used to be Claypool’s Market, and it has gone through a few changes in recent years. Its parking lot appears to have more cars than the Dollar General store. People are used to it, and it has a deli. And a great selection of beer. But to be fair, the DG hasn’t been open that long yet. And people heading up 88 from Jackson can see the PG market, and it’s easy to pull into the parking lot from the highway. They can’t see the new store on the left- perhaps a large sign on the highway is in the works. I don’t know about that. But if they want to put one in, my guess is it will happen. For all I know, it’s already in place.
Dollar General has an aggressive expansion plan. I don’t have any specifics regarding future stores in Amador County. I’ve heard a rumor that Plymouth is in their sights. But Joshua Simon’s company isn’t standing still in its efforts to search out locations.
I heard a rumor that Fred Claypool is opening a market in Moke Hill on the corner of 49 and 26. I wonder if Dollar General would see that location as being worthwhile, too. Maybe once the market is open, they will want to build close by. You know- in the interests of healthy competition.
When you type “planned Dollar General stores” into the Google, you see a lot of articles about town meetings and enraged citizens and petition drives. Their stores don’t seem to be very popular, for the same reasons our local citizens have expressed. Driving by 88 and Ridge, I can readily see their point. The building is stunningly nondescript. When citizens were afforded enough time, though, some efforts have borne fruit.
I’m no architect, but my sensibilities are offended. And I know- the view across the street isn’t great. But somebody could always tear down the gas station. Not a lot of effort was put in to have the DG store blend in to the rustic character of the area. The Dollar General is done, and we’ll have to look at it for a long time.
The planned store in Pioneer appears to be inevitable. There may still be time to influence the design, though. It’s up to the local citizens to continue to apply pressure.
D. Norman
