Dollar General now considering Damascus location

SALEM -- Even as the third Salem-area Dollar General Store is being built at 1297 E. Pidgeon Road in Salem, the company is looking at a Damascus location.

On Monday, Angela Petkovic, a spokesperson for Dollar General, said, "At this time, Dollar General is in the due diligence phase for a new location in Damascus.

"This means we are reviewing the opportunity to add a new store in the area, but we have not committed to doing so just yet.

"Based on our current timeline, we anticipate to have a final decision on the Damascus location by the end of this year."

Goshen Township Trustee Chairman Bob McCracken said the township, which is in Mahoning County and doesn't have zoning codes, has been in contact with the company regarding two locations.

He said there is one location to the east and one is to the west of Damascus on U.S. Route 62.

He said the location to the west is at Smith-Goshen Road.

Petrovic said, "When choosing store locations, meeting customers' needs is Dollar General's top priority. The company looks 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 three to five mile radius, or 10 minute drive.

"We also take demographic trends, competitive factors, traffic patterns and community concerns into consideration."

Regarding the East Pidgeon Road store, Petkovic said, "At this time, a grand opening is slated for early summer 2018, but understand that construction progress may alter this date."

The store will employ approximately 6 to 10 employees, depending on the needs of the store.

Dollar General recently opened a new store at 1000 W. State St. after closing its downtown store at 514 E. State St.

Employees from that downtown store were relocated to the new West State Street store and the company also operates a store in the Salem Plaza at 2350 E. State St.

J.O.O. Construction Co., in its 25th year, said it is scheduled to turn the new Dollar General store on East Pidgeon Road over to the company on May 14 and the store could open two weeks later.

Anyone interested in working for Dollar General may apply for available positions online at www.dollargeneral.com/careers.

lshields@salemnews.net