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By Mike Barnhardt

Enterprise Record

This ain’t your mama’s Dollar General.

County commissioners gave the go-ahead earlier this month for a new Dollar General Market off US 64 West near NC 901 and Davie Academy Road when they unanimously agreed to rezone two acres from residential agricultural to highway business conditional.

The condition is that a retail grocery store will be built on the site, across the highway from Fast Phil’s (formerly Cartner’s) and other businesses, and adjacent to a salvage yard.

The two acres were carved from a corner section of 188 acres owned by Sam Howard Farms Inc., and has been used as farm land in recent years.

The market concept is new for Dollar General in North Carolina, with the first having just opened in Rockwell. No timeline for construction of the Davie site was mentioned.

The store, said Joe Strickland, director of operations in North Carolina for Teramore Development, which will own the building, will be about 2,000 square feet larger than the typical Dollar General, and include more fresh foods, coolers and freezers, as well as have more room for storage and wider aisles for customers.

“It won’t be your conventional type store you see we’ve built everywhere else.”

He said the intersection will be improved as part of the process.

Commissioner Benita Finney questioned whether it would work, with other Dollar Generals in the county having trouble finding workers, and the fire marshal shutting most down for short periods because of overcrowding and blocked aisles.

“Are you going to be able to maintain staff to keep your store in the proper condition?”

Strickland said that while most of those answers belong to Dollar General, as the leasor they can require the company to keep the property in good shape.

“The store will offer enhanced coolers and freezers. When you typically walk into a Dollar General, all the cooler and freezer aisles are on the right. When you walk into this store, everything will be in the middle … with extra room for produce and fresh meat,” Strickland said.

The store will offer mostly grocery items, but include many household items that are found in more typical stores.

Finney made the motion to approve the rezoning request, which passed unanimously.

“I hope you will be able to maintain something that looks as nice as this picutre you presented us, and I truly hope you’re able to maintain the staff to keep the store in good operating condition.”

She said that normally, such a request would have been met with more concern.

“But I’ve talked to some of the people around there, and they feel like there’s a need for this type of business there because they do have to drive so far to get some groceries or pick up something quick.”

Also, it isn’t near any residences, she said.

Strickland said the market store concept is for areas five miles or further from the nearest grocery store.