Dollar Tree grand opening celebration this Saturday

To The Press

The new Dollar Tree store in Charles City has already exceeded company expectations in its first two weeks, according to its manager, and is set to celebrate its official grand opening on Saturday.

The Chamber Ambassadors were on hand Thursday morning for a formal ribbon cutting and to help welcome the new retailer to town.

“This is going to be a really good, strong store,” said District Manager Darret Hazlett. “The fact that we were this busy with the limited access right now — we want to thank our customers for their support, patience and understanding.”

Road construction on two sides of the new store at 510 Hildreth St. is making it a bit of a challenge right now to get to the new store, but traffic access is available via an alleyway off of Gilbert and Third Street.

Dollar Tree is a national chain with headquartered in Virginia. The stores are known for offering a broad mix of merchandise for $1 or less.

According to Hazlett, the Charles City store is on “the bigger side” of most Dollar Tree facilities, and includes a refrigerated dairy and freezer cases.

“You’ll see a lot of name brands in the building, maybe in smaller sizes than you will see elsewhere, but a lot of brand names,” he said.

“Something unique and different that we haven’t done too much before in the past is Dollar Tree Direct, where customers can order in bulk online and have it delivered to the store here for pick up. It’s a neat little option for people planning big events.”

This is Hazlett’s 15th Dollar Tree store. His region includes Platteville, Wisconsin, and Dubuque to the east, Cedar Rapids and Marshalltown to the south, Iowa Falls to the west and now Charles City being the furthest north.

The Charles City store will employ 10-15 people — “probably closer to 15 if we stay this busy,” Hazlett said. “We’ve done well above what we anticipated for the first two weeks in terms of business.”

Dollar Tree will be open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays.

A grand opening celebration will take place on Saturday, July 14, followed by a “Family & Friends” event on Sunday, July 15, which will be open to all and feature in-store coupons including a 10 percent on purchases of $10 or more.