Another day, another Dollar General

After nearly four months of recovery from a fire that caused roughly $7,500 worth of damage, Selbyville’s Dollar General store has reopened in time for the holidays, much to the relief of customers and employees. The store, situated right in the center of downtown Selbyville along Church Street, caught fire on Aug. 10 from an ice cream machine installed too close to an interior wall. Fire damage to the structure and smoke damage to a large amount of the merchandise shut the business’ doors for nearly 15 weeks.

Coastal Point • Ryan Saxton
Janice Mitchell and Jacqueline Mizzell stand behind the new conveyor belt and registers at the Dollar General checkout counter. The store received a facelift after renovating and recovering from a structure fire earlier this summer.

“Everywhere I went,” said manager Charlie Loberg, “people were asking me, ‘When are you opening back up?’ I’d be having breakfast somewhere, and someone would recognize me and wonder when we’d be up again. It’s a shame what happened, but it was nice to know that people were concerned.”

Along with new inventory, the store itself saw some aesthetic changes, including additions to help make customers’ experience a little easier.

“We got a brand new store out of it,” enthused Loberg, who has worked as a manager at the Selbyville location for three years, since moving to the area. “We got new shelving, floors and ceilings. They came in here, took everything out and started from the ground up. And we still have the same low prices.”

In addition, the rejuvenated Dollar General has the latest in revamps at the checkout counter, including a conveyor belt and rotary bagging systems.

“It’s a whole new setup,” said Loberg. “We’re the first one in the district, too, with a conveyor for checkout. Needless to say, I’m like a proud father.”

“[The conveyor] is very convenient for our customers,” said manager Jacqueline Mizzell, “especially for bigger orders around the holidays. People come in and pick up a few extra items.”

Mizzell, along with other employees who worked at the Selbyville store prior to the fire, found temporary employment at other locations during the store’s recovery and renovation.

“I love that I’m back here,” she said. “I live only three minutes away, so it’s very convenient.”

Loberg said he was glad to have his employees return and more than happy to welcome them back when the store reopened at the end of November.

“At a time when people are losing their jobs,” he said, “we wanted to be here for our employees.” With the economy struggling, fires at the workplace are among the rarest of worries for most people, but this fire could have impacted these employees severely at a time when most could least afford it.

Along with the return of the employees to their jobs, valued customers were also relieved to have the store back. With the Dollar General reopened, they were quickly returning to the aisles. “Some people come in here multiple times a day,” said Loberg. “We also have a lot of people who walk here and don’t have cars. It’s nice to have something for them right in town. At first, I was afraid we’d lose all of our customers, but, thankfully, they’re all back.”

“Everyone I’ve talked to loves coming back,” said Mizzell. “For some of our customers, this was their store.”

As the holiday season progresses, more customers are finding convenience and welcoming faces at Selbyville’s Dollar General.

“With the recovery and everything,” said Loberg, “we’re about two months behind everyone else, but we’re gaining on them. Business is definitely back.”