Special shoutout to HHR reader Ty J. who let me know about the new signs going up. Dollar General Market signs surprised Houstonians this week, as they were recently hung on a closed Walgreens on the west side. The former drug store, located at 1838 S Kirkwood Rd, Houston, TX 77077, permanently closed late last year as part of Walgreens’ broader cuts. Dollar General quietly filed plans to open a store here earlier this year, though they did not disclose that it would be one of their market concepts. Dollar General Market is a limited-scope discount grocer. While DG Market locations feature no service departments, you will find fresh foods, like produce and meats. You can also find a limited assortment of non-grocery items like basic cleaning supplies, HBA, and paper products. So far, the only DG Market to open within Houston city limits has been a remodeled Dollar General on Gears Road. However, two locations do exist in the south of Houston: Leauge City and La Marque. Dollar General Market first debuted in 2003. The first generation of stores were former grocery stores, and these newer small-format locations appear to be a recent development for the chain. While Dollar General has not publically provided insight into their expansion of DG Market, this is presumably part of the 800 new stores the chain promised to open this year. Previously, the company expanded through its PopShelf brand throughout Houston, although this has reportedly been scaled back. Work on the new Kirkwood store is ongoing, and it seems like it may be open within the next few months, although that is only an estimate.
While this location will be especially convenient for a number of households near the Kirkwood-Briar Forest intersection, it is otherwise smack in the middle of a LOT of grocery stores (Only the intersection immediately to the north on Kirkwood doesn’t also have a grocery store, and it isn’t far from one). Will be interesting to see how this works out.