Dallas city council members debate how and whether to regulate small discount retailers known as dollar stores.
They aren’t actually grocery stores, but some council members would like the stores to sell more fresh produce and meat as some parts of Dallas don’t have grocery stores.
An activist trying to reopen a grocery store that failed despite city incentives says dollar stores are not the answer for areas where fresh groceries are hard to find.
In the Highland Hills neighborhood near Simpson Stuart Road and Bonnie View Road, a Family Dollar Store is the main source of food.
“We have a freezer with the products and things, for example frozen goods, for example pizzas. We have a cooler for milk and dairy products, ”said clerk Cassandra Dawson.
She said it was possible to adjust the store for fresh produce and meat, but it would be a big management decision.
That’s what some members of the Dallas City Council’s Quality of Life Committee said they want to achieve this, perhaps with urban incentives.
“For the opportunity to refurbish your store for what we want to achieve,” said committee chairman Adam Bazaldua.
A few years ago, the city of Dallas offered a $ 3 million incentive to any full-service grocer who agreed to open in what is considered a food wasteland, where food is far away. No business accepted the offer.
Bazaldua suggested that a similar incentive amount could be split among several dollar stores willing to add necessary fresh grocery equipment.
“We don’t want them to be the enemy, but at the same time we want to find out how we can better work together so that they provide the things our residents want, what they need, what they need.” Councilor Omar Narvaez said.
Some officials have suggested that too many dollar stores in an area prevent normal grocery stores from entering and that clearance requirements may be warranted. Other cities took such steps, according to a briefing in Dallas on Monday.
“In some neighborhoods, grocery stores are lined up next to each other. Ours are miles apart, ”said Councilor Casey Thomas.
To address the lack of healthy food in Highland Hills, the city invested $ 2.8 million years ago to renovate a mall with a grocery store, but the store failed.
Now activist Bruce Carter is working on reopening this store as part of a larger plan to address other community issues that could keep regular grocers from supplying the area.
“So we’re not just talking about putting groceries on the shelves, because that’s not possible. We have some behavioral issues to deal with in the community, issues that are poverty-ridden, “Carter said.
So far, the City of Dallas has rejected Carter’s application for $ 2.4 million, which it believes is needed to reopen the store, start the other programs, and attract additional investment.
“We have banks that are ready to invest now,” Carter said.
The district office of Dallas City Councilor Tennell Atkins is one block from the shuttered grocery store.
Atkins said he was not involved in making any decisions about Carter’s plan but was very closely involved in previous grocery store efforts.
Atkins said grocery stores operate on very low profit margins.
“The neighborhood needs to be safe and this was a hot spot area, crime was high, theft was high. So, 1% profit margin, that’s the deal, ”Atkins said.
Atkins and Carter agreed that dollar stores could be difficult to play the full role of grocery deliveries.
“Look at the business perspective. A dollar store is not a grocery store, ”Atkins said.
Saleswoman Cassandra Dawson said she worked at both the closed grocery store on Simpson Stuart Road and the Family Dollar store around the corner in Bonnie View.
“The prices there were too high and I think they are very reasonable here,” she said.
All of these elements are part of the puzzle of how food can be sold anywhere in Dallas.
Committee members asked city officials to return in January with additional information and options on how to deal with dollar stores.
[ad_1]
