New Dollar General will offer the twice the size, nearly twice the jobs

Of the 9,500 Dollar General stores nationwide, less than 1 percent are known as market stores.

Port St. Joe will soon be home to a 20,000 square foot Dollar General Market Store, which will provide fresh produce, dairy products and meats in addition to the normal Dollar General merchandise.

Construction of the store is well underway at the corner of U.S. Highway 98 and Avenue D, with the walls shooting up seemingly overnight.

The market store will be more than twice the size of a regular Dollar General in terms of square feet, and will employ about twice the staff.

The corporation hopes to have the store stocked and ready for service by November.  

"We developed the market store to provide more value and a more convenient one-stop shopping experience for our customers," said Dollar General spokeswoman Emily Weiss. "So far the market stores have been very well received by the communities." 

When opening a new store, Weiss said the corporation analyzes an area's demographic trends, traffic patterns and customer needs.

"This community was a great fit for a Dollar General Market," said Weiss, who added that a typical Dollar General Market employs about 40 people.

Those interested in employment with Dollar General are encouraged to check out the career center at dollargeneral.com.

"The main thing is that this is going to create jobs," said David Lee, superintendent for Concept Construction of North Florida, the Gainesville-based company overseeing the project.

Because the construction has progressed quickly, Dollar General has moved up its original completion date.

Lee said Dollar General expects the store ready for the installation of fixtures by Oct. 15.

"We've met all the schedules and demands they've laid out for us so far," Lee said. "As long as the weather cooperates and all of our subcontractors cooperate, we will probably meet that date." 

Concept Construction has overseen roughly 25 similar Dollar General Construction projects in the last year and a half, but this is the largest they have done, Lee said.

Another thing that will set this store apart will be its aesthetics, Lee said.

"Everything is going to be appealing to the eye," Lee said. "They're going to think they're at Macy's or something."

City building inspector Bo Creel said the Port St. Joe Redevelopment Agency, which worked with Dollar General and the contractor on exterior details to fit the newly-spruced downtown area, really went above and beyond to dress up the store.

"It's not going to be just a box look," Creel said. "It's going to have profile to it."