-July 28,2019-
Morro Bay and Los Osos residents sounded out on the popular but chatty social media website Next Door in recent weeks that they were looking forward to welcoming a trendy Aldi grocery or perhaps a Trader Joe’s to the vacant Cookie Crock grocery store space on Quintana.
But, excuse the punch line, that’s not the way the cookie crumbles
Instead of one of those retailers – the darlings of the boomer class moving into town, Morro Bay will get a double dose of dollar stores – favorite of working folks.
Morro Bay Community Development Director Scot Graham says Dollar Tree has taken out a permit to demise the existing 20,000sf store into two side-by-side dollar stores, one a Dollar Tree and the other a Family Dollar. Both brands are owned by the nation’s largest discount variety retailer – Dollar Tree with nearly $6 billion in sales. Between the two brands they have some 15,000 stores across the US.
And one in Morro Bay, just down the block. Graham says he has been told that Dollar Tree will be relocating to the new site later this summer where they will get a bigger store, about double what they have today (5000sf) with lots more parking than they have now.
In recent weeks the Cookie Crock owners have been busy clearing the space out and disposing of the fixtures telling this reporter that indeed a dollar store is moving in and they want to clean the place out by the end of July. The store closed in May.
At the Morro Bay Dollar Tree staff said they have heard the rumors but had no firm information from their managers that it was true.
The success of dollar stores appears to be in part their willingness to go to smaller towns in rural America with no Walmart near by to sell a line of everyday discount products. As the retail recession has prompted more storefront vacancies, it has been the dollar stores who have been willing to move in.
“Trader Joe’s told us there just wasn’t enough traffic here to warrant them coming to Morro Bay” remarks city planner Scot Graham.
Still the unusual thing about this plan is that the company would consider putting in two side-by-side dollar stores, at least that is what they show in their plans, says Graham.
Dollar Tree bought the Family Dollar chain more than 3 years ago but even today they are siting new Family Dollar stores as well more Dollar Tree location.On the other hand Dollar Tree announced recently that it was closing as many as 390 Family Dollar stores in 2019 with 85 closings in the fourth quarter of 2018. In its most recent quarterly report same-store sales at Dollar Tree were up 3.2%while Family Dollar saw an increase of 1.4%.One source says Family Dollar stores, unlike Dollar Tree, sell the majority of its products for more than $1 and there is a wider selection of of well-known brands. Family Dollar often has a selection of fresh food that includes milk, eggs, and cheese but no fruit or vegetables.
All the discount dollar stores in the chain along the Central Coast are Dollar Trees while in the San Joaquin Valley most of the company stores are Family Dollar locations.