Several cities - including Atlanta, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Fort Worth, Texas - have adopted ordinances limiting the spread of new dollar stores. …I lost a thousand dollars a day in sales in three years.”ĭollar stores’ rapid growth has spurred a backlash.

“We lasted three years and three days after Dollar General opened,” said the owner of a Foodliner grocery store in Haven, Kansas, quoted in The Guardian in 2018.

Smaller, independent grocers have been chiefly affected. Stores keep operating costs low by employing few workers and through efficient distribution networks, and they typically deliver wider profit margins than competing retailers. (Separate research suggests making COVID-19 vaccines available at the stores, which are more common than drugs stores in rural and exurban areas, would have eased the problem of “vaccination deserts” during the pandemic.) Dollar General now offers fruits and vegetables in about 3,000 of its 18,800 stores, with plans to add another 2,000 in 2023, the company CEO said in December.ĭefenders argue that dollar stores’ lower prices give underserved consumers more choice, while their strategy of flooding a market with several outlets means shoppers gain the convenience of shorter trips without long drives to distant supermarkets or club stores. Until recently, fresh produce wasn’t part of the mix, and it still remains the exception. Soda, snacks, candy and crackers account for the largest share of consumer spending at the stores, the study indicates. “The exit of existing grocery stores and the entry of large numbers of dollar stores … have significant impacts on food purchases and availability,” the authors write.ĭollar stores, which first appeared in the 1950s, typically offer a limited selection of merchandise that emphasizes seasonal products, household goods and individual servings of nonperishable food items. At the same time, consumers trim their purchase of fresh produce by an average of 4% to 7.4%, with a significantly steeper decline for low-income households. But that hasn’t stopped my love affair with dessert tables and cake stands.The study by University of Toronto’s El Hadi Caoui, UCLA Anderson’s Brett Hollenbeck and University of Toronto’s Matthew Osborne found a significant decline in the number of independent grocers following the entry of dollar stores into a neighborhood - roughly the loss of one grocery store for every three dollar stores within a 2-mile radius. What’s to complain about, right? So we had a big fancy cake and it was delicious. But Aa and my mom disagreed and both said, “There HAS to be a cake!” I didn’t take much convincing because, well, it’s cake. See, here’s the thing, I really wanted a big dessert buffet, maybe even cupcakes, but I wasn’t married to the idea of a big fancy wedding cake (pun definitely intended). And my mom was the same way, happy to help but pretty easygoing, but she agreed with Aa on this one. He definitely helped a ton with the planning and execution and he certainly had opinions and helped me choose things but he didn’t have super strong it-has-to-be-a-certain-way feelings about most things.

When I got married, my husband was really easygoing about most things. Make your own gorgeous dessert table with these amazing cake stands, you won’t believe they’re DIY!

Dollar store dessert stands