DG Market opens for business

#MiddleburyCT #DGMarket

By MARJORIE NEEDHAM

Middlebury’s DG Market, the new business in the former Dinova’s Four Corners Market location, opened for business at 1 p.m. August 1. We dropped by August 2 to find the bulk of the store’s merchandise neatly displayed on shelves. Perhaps 90% of the refrigerated cases and the produce shelves have not yet been stocked.

Dollar General Store Merchandiser Diane Clevenger, who had been in charge of the store opening and was going to fly out of town Sunday, said the refrigerated items and produce should all arrive next week. She said she advises customers, particularly seniors, to start their shopping at DG Market, where the prices are lower than Walmart’s, because they can save a lot of money.

A woman from Naugatuck who asked not to be identified was there shopping. She said, “It’s beautiful. I like it very much. The prices are not that bad.”

Dave Theroux of Middlebury was there, too. He said, “I think this is fantastic for the town. It’s a general store for the town and the surrounding area. To me, it’s a mini-Walmart.” He noted the fresh food section in these stores, which he saw at the DG Market in Essex, is not the same as Dinova’s was.

“I hope the fresh food part matures,” he said. “It won’t mature until they have a few dozen stores to supply. Until then, it will be a challenge.”

Meanwhile, the store is stocked with aisles of nonperishables (canned and boxed food), and, as Theroux noted, it does seem like a mini-Walmart. Among the items we saw were toiletries, makeup, diapers, underwear and socks, work gloves, motor oil, home decor items that included removable wallpaper and floor tiles, towels, kitchen utensils, toilet tissue, facial tissue, hand tools, and detergents. This is just a partial list of the store’s offerings.

Once the refrigerated items and produce are in, we’ll do a more in-depth report that includes price comparisons. This reporter’s initial impression is that the prices seem quite reasonable. The store is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.