MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Signs reading “everything must go” suddenly posted on the windows of the Dollar General on Jackson Avenue caused a frenzy Friday.
“I saw the commotion, came to see what’s going on,” Debbie Richardson said.
As word spread on social media, cars jammed the parking lot to catch a good deal in the final sale.
Jock Jones waited while his sister-in-law was inside in line along with others, all reporting extensive wait times.
“About four hours,” Jones said.
“I’ve been in line close to an hour. Some people ahead of me have been here two to three hours standing in the same spot,” Tameka Patterson said.
Pictures inside showed line wrapping around all walls of the store. Empty shelves of toilet paper, cereal and school supplies were all picked through.
“Baby clothes, snacks, hygiene products, things for my grandmother,” Patterson said.
Dollar General recommended people go to their next-closest store on Summer Avenue but that’s about three miles away. There is a Family Dollar a half-mile away, but people who shop at the closing store said the closing would be a hardship.
“I don’t think it should due to the area it’s in, most of the people here are able to get a ride or come,” Jones said.
“It’s going to be hard for the ones that don’t have transportation and far as trying to go to a cheaper store to be a competitive price,” Patterson said.
The company released a statement to WREG: “As part of a continual review on how we can best meet our customers’ needs, we made the decision to close our store on Jackson Avenue in Memphis.”
But, the statement didn’t explain what that review said or why the announcement was so sudden.
The statement went to say, “We plan to simply transfer all employees to nearby stores in the Memphis area and we look forward to continuing to serve Shelby County residents with value and convenience at our 30 stores in Memphis city limits.”