BY TRACY AGNEW/SUFFOLK NEWS HERALD
tracy.agnew@suffolknewsherald.com

A new building is under construction in the village of Holland, and it promises shorter shopping trips for last-minute items for folks in the surrounding community.

The Dollar General store will celebrate its grand opening later this summer, although an exact date is not yet settled. A company spokeswoman said the needs of the community were taken into account in deciding to build the store in Holland.

“Meeting our customers’ needs is our top priority when choosing store locations,” Jaclyn Dees, a communications specialist with Dollar General, wrote in an email. “We look for places where we can offer customers an easy and convenient shopping choice. We know convenience is a major factor in our customers’ shopping decisions as we generally serve customers within a 3-5 mile radius, or 10-minute drive.”

She said demographic trends, competitive factors and traffic patterns are also considered when deciding where to locate a store.

The Dollar General will be about 7,200 square feet and employ six to 10 people, Dees wrote.

Like all Dollar General stores, the new Holland store will support literacy and education through the Dollar General Literary Foundation.

Customers who need to learn how to read, speak English or get their General Education Diploma can pick up a brochure with a postage-paid reply card that can be mailed in for a referral to a local organization that offers free literacy services.

Since its inception in 1993, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $74 million in grants to nonprofit organizations and helped more than 4.4 million people take their first steps toward literacy or continue education.