Dollar General on track to open in July

By MICHAEL BABCOCK

Ozaukee Press staff

The discount retail chain Dollar General is set for a July opening of its Fredonia store at the intersection of Highway 57 and Fredonia Avenue.

“Their tentative time for completion is at the end of June for a July opening,” Village Administrator Christophe Jenkins said. “It seems like they’re on track.”

  The opening of the store will bring shopping options to village residents who currently have to shop for household products outside the community.

“For village residents, it gives the ability to have an elevated place to shop at, to buy small grocery items and other convenience items—and not have to commute to another municipality,” Jenkins said.

The store will become the second chain-owned shopping venue in the village. Casey’s, a gas station and convenience store, opened on Highland Drive in 2019.

Dollar General offers basic items at discount prices, including food, clothes, and household necessities. The chain is not a dollar store.

  The development of the site comes after a 2022 survey of Fredonia residents revealed a desire for an increased business presence in the village. Since then, the village has focused on developing its business prospects, including opening a business park and approving several business proposals.

“Every development is a big deal, but this a huge piece toward reviving the community,” Jenkins said in November. He also said the construction will contribute to Fredonia’s net new construction valuation, allowing for an increase to it’s state spending limit.

Along with increased business potential, the store will create several jobs in the town, he said.

“There will be a few full-time jobs for managers and many part-time jobs for stocking and customer service,” Jenkins said.

  The location of the store is off Highway 57 and at the entrance to Fredonia. A short drive for residents of the village and Belgium, which has been without a retail outlet since the Belgium Village Market closed in 2008.

  The previous building on the site was demolished after being vacant for years. It was most recently a day-care center and had previously been a residence and a tavern.

  Jenkins said planning for the construction of the store has gone smoothly.

  “We have been following up on inspections and questioned items as they have come up,” he said. “Everything seems to be going as presented.”

  Plans for the retail site began in August, when the chain contacted the then Fredonia Director of Public Works Roger Strohm, sending preliminary architectural plans and requesting information on utilities.

  In November, the plan was approved by the Plan Commission, and in December, the Fredonia Village Board unanimously approved a reduction in the size and number of parking spaces at the location.

  The store’s construction follows a series of discount retail store openings in the area. The chain Dollar Tree opened a location at the NorthPoint Shopping Center in Port Washington in 2019, and the following year Dollar General opened a location at the old ShopKo express building in the city.