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NEWS BRIEFS
Dollar Tree of South Point expands
SOUTH POINT — Chesapeake resident Sylvia Craft wasn’t so worried about filling her shopping cart with a number of items Saturday morning.
Though the candles, books, baskets and other items in her cart could have easily been much higher in other stores, Craft said knew it would only amount to a few bucks.
That’s because Craft was shopping at the newly renovated Dollar Tree in the Tri-State Crossing shopping plaza in South Point. Saturday’s grand re-opening marked the second weekend customers could shop in the much larger store.
Craft said she was confident she could find the good prices at the store that sells everything for $1. While items like toys and candy were for her grandchildren, Craft said she frequents the store because she is guaranteed to find great prices for her necessity products — like word puzzle books.
“I love it here because everything’s so cheap,” Craft said. “Here you can buy (word puzzle) books for $1, where as (other stores) you pay $2.97 for them.”
Aside from puzzle books and gifts for her grandchildren, Craft said she visits the store once a month to pick up any number of items including paper plates and cups.
Store Assistant Manager Teresa Curnutte said since the economy has worsened over the last few months, more people have been shopping at discounted stores to save a buck where they can. Sales at the newly-expanded Dollar Tree have already risen since it opened its 5,000-square foot expansion last week. The store is now about 7,800-square feet.
“A lot more people have turned to dollar stores for deals,” Curnutte said.
Aside from selling everything from cleaning supplies and cookware to food and gifts, Curnutte said the Dollar Tree will eventually begin accepting food stamps. They are waiting, she said, until they install their new freezer.
In a little more than two months, Curnutte said the store was expanded by using the space from two adjacent properties, formerly Sally Beauty Supply and Friedman’s Jewelers. The massive expansion has allowed the store to have a greater variety of items. The Dollar Tree of South Point has been serving the area for about 20 years.
“With the bigger store, people don’t have to travel as far to get the selection,” Curnutte said. “We have a bigger variety in almost every department.”
Aside from the great deals, Craft said she likes the new, bigger store.
“I love it,” Craft said. “There’s a lot more room to move around. Before everything was so crowded you could barely squeeze a cart down the aisles.”
