Cherokee Chronicle Times

New Dollar Tree/Family Dollar store to open



The large retail space on Cherokee’s north side has sat empty since Shopko closed.

Cherokee will soon be home to a new Dollar Tree/Family Dollar store located in the former Shopko building on North Second Street southeast of the Hwy. 59 and Hwy. 3 junction.

Although there has been no official announcement or communication from the Dollar Tree/Family Dollar company despite repeated efforts by the Chronicle Times the past several weeks, signs posted at the site and connecting the dots among online references and information verifies that a combination Dollar Tree and Family Dollar will be opening in the vacant building.

Work crews have been on site remodeling and equipping the facility since early September with plans to open yet this year. The history of the four Shopko building owners to date involves developers, investors and real estate conglomerates, but not the actual retail tenants, further complicating the communication void.

Job openings, including one for a store manager, have been posted online for the new Cherokee store through Dollar Tree/FamilyDollar posts. Both the Cherokee Area Economic Development Corporation and Chamber of Commerce report that they, too, have been left largely in the dark concerning the new store’s plans and schedule.

The 39,000-square-foot structure at 1610 N. 2nd St., was sold by local investors to a large national retailer this past summer, but the Chronicle Times was unable to verify it was Dollar Tree, the parent company of Family Dollar. 

Since losing the K-Mart and Shopko Hometown stores in 2018 in a national retail store-closing dilemma hitting many rural communities, Cherokee has been without a department store other than reliable farm and home retailer Bomgaars providing area shoppers with “what you need when you need it.”

There remains a Dollar General Store on Cherokee’s north side, but its downtrodden appearance and an ownership ignoring the store’s many pitfalls and limitations survives only by the needs of a captive audience.

That surely will change upon the good news that Dollar Tree/Family Dollar is coning to town to boost Cherokee’s retail community and hopefully with an improved marketing-communications initiative going forward.

Dollar Tree previously announced that it will open 600 new stores this year, continuing dollar store chains’ torrid growth across the country. The announcement comes as the pandemic has taken a toll on many retailers and forced thousands of stores to close. But dollar stores have surged as economically-strapped customers seek out bargains on food, household essentials and other items. 

Dollar Tree has a treasure hunt-like atmosphere in stores and caters to suburban, middle-income shoppers. It carries primarily seasonal goods, toys, stationary, home decor, kitchenware and party items. Family Dollar is tailored to lower income shoppers in rural and urban areas and stocks more food and household basics than Dollar Tree.

All products at Dollar Tree sell for $1, although the chain is testing out a new initiative to sell select products from $1 to $5. Family Dollar sells most of its merchandise at various prices under $10

The Cherokee store is part of Dollar Tree’s plan to crack the rural market by opening 50 new “combination stores” that feature elements of Dollar Tree and Family Dollar outlets and sell a mix of merchandise, combining the appeal of both chains into one location.

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