Dollar Tree Opens in Place of 99c Only Store With Less Groceries and Higher Prices.

By Rosie O. Knight, Columnist

It’s hard to believe that only a few months ago, the 99c Only Stores announced they’d be closing down all their locations. The removal of the Gaffey Street location in San Pedro instantly changed the landscape of affordable groceries in the neighborhood. Still, with the announcement that Dollar Tree would be taking over, there was hope that they may be able to fill the void that 99c Only left. 

Unfortunately, the new Dollar Tree is not attempting to replicate what made the 99c Only location so beloved. Since opening earlier this month, the store has struggled to fill its shelves and freezers, with most of the latter still empty. Just like their other locations, there is no fresh produce to be found and the dried goods that they do have were for the most part priced much higher than their equivalents at the now defunct 99c Only Stores. 

The store is predominantly filled with home goods, seasonal items, and cleaning supplies, with only a couple of aisles dedicated solely to food, most of it dried or canned goods. The freezers were largely empty with only a few products in each, hot afternoon sun shining through the Gaffey-facing windows directly onto the glass of the freezer doors. There is no sign of the wide range of bread and baked goods that shoppers could always find at 99c Only. 

Another thing that is instantly clear is that most of the goods and signage focus on foods that are above a dollar, pushing the average price per full grocery bag higher. Many shoppers were worried that Dollar Tree wouldn’t be able to replace the fresh produce and variety that made 99c Only such a staple, and as it stands it looks like those worries were on the mark. It seems like shoppers are less than impressed as when this journalist visited on a Wednesday afternoon — when the 99c Only Store would have been full of customers heading home after work — it was nearly empty with only a few shoppers mulling around the aisles. 

With all of that said, it’s important to note that the new Gaffey Street Dollar Tree is undergoing something akin to a “soft-opening” phase with posted plans to build out more shelving and products in the future. But for now, it feels like just another Dollar Tree location with a focus on processed foods, plastic goods, and a lack of healthy, fresh options for the local community.