When plans were announced late last month to put new Dollar General stores in former Walmart Express locations in Four Oaks and Princeton, the Town of Benson appeared to be left out of the mix.
That all changed on Wednesday when a permit to place Dollar General signs was requested for the empty building at 702 S. Wall Street.
The permit allows for the addition of signs to the front of the building, a 20-foot high sign in the parking lot and additional signs on the canopy above the fuel pumps.
“The Town of Benson is pleased that Dollar General will be locating a store here,” said Town Manager Matt Zapp. “At this time, we are under the impression that Dollar General will maintain the fuel pumps as well.”
The move falls into place with the plans by Dollar General to extend their footprint to area communities in the wake of the failure by the retail giant to compete with local convenience stores.
When Walmart announced the closings in January, it left abandoned buildings in dozens of towns across the country. Among those towns affected locally were Benson, Coats, Four Oaks, Steadman, Pikeville and Princeton.
Prior to Wednesday’s announcement, Dollar General had expressed no interest publicly on acquiring the Benson location.
“The Benson community continues to grow,” Mr. Zapp said. “Fortunately, we have strong local, regional and nationally recognized retailers that are flourishing here.”
There was no timeline announced by either the Town of Benson or Dollar General officials when the store would begin the process of stocking shelves or open the doors.
