Family Dollar Closures to Clear 6 East Side Stores

Another customer asked him to try another Family Dollar store at Ferry and Grider streets, but that store is also closing and was in similar condition.

In fact, the East Side will lose six Family Dollar locations in the coming weeks. It’s part of a wave of store closings across the company, and the East Side is particularly hard hit.

Among other Western New York stores, these stores are closing on the city’s East Side:

• 738 E. Delavan Ave.
• 1756 rue Genesée
• 1307 Jefferson Ave.
• 3364 Bailey Ave.
• 928-Broadway
• 1031 Clinton Street.

It’s a blow to residents, sparking concerns about access to affordable goods and employment opportunities in the community. Unlike store closings in the rest of Western New York, including a Family Dollar in Derby, the closures on the East Side are more than an inconvenience.

Located in one of the region’s most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, these Family Dollar stores have been vital hubs for residents who rely on them to purchase everyday necessities at reasonable prices. They have been a lifeline for low-income families who had few options, and the multiple closures are a distressing development for many already facing financial hardship.

Corey Wright, a customer at the East Delavan store, said he will have to walk further to buy household essentials or spend more of his budget on travel. Another Family Dollar store 1.5 miles away, at 1185 Genesee St., remains open.

“It’s going to shake up this whole area. We’re going to feel stuck,” he said. “Where can I go without having to spend $5 on a bus to get there when I only have $5 to get what I need for my house?”

One of the Family Dollar stores slated to close is next to Tops Markets on Jefferson Avenue, where the racist mass shooting took place on May 14, 2022. When that store closed temporarily, it highlighted the lack of options residents had for purchasing fresh food and obtaining prescriptions. medications and made the neighborhood’s lack of options a topic of national conversation.

While the establishment was closed and the only supermarket for miles around, it was handing out free food in its parking lot.

“When Tops closed on Jefferson because of what happened, no one in our neighborhood had a car. They had to go to the parking lot to get food,” he said. “Normally they walk around and choose what they want. You may not even want it, but you need food in your home. That’s what’s driving me crazy about this whole situation.

Nashawne Davis, another East Side resident, worries about seniors, people with limited mobility and those without transportation who need to make affordable purchases.

“It’s going to be hard for them,” he said. “Some people will have no way to shop. They will have nowhere to get the items they need.

Davis himself will have to shop at closer, more expensive stores once Family Dollar is gone — further eating into his budget.

“It’s a little sad,” he said. “We have nowhere to shop.”

Family Dollar and its parent company, Dollar Tree, did not respond to requests for comment.

Dollar Tree announced in March that it would close nearly 1,000 Family Dollar stores over the next few years — 600 this year, and phase out another 370 as their leases expire.

The company blamed the move on inflation, shoplifting, falling sales and reduced government food aid linked to Covid-19. The chain was already struggling when Dollar Tree acquired it in 2015. It struggled to keep stores clean and shelves stocked, and was fined $40 million by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Justice earlier this year for keeping its inventory in a rat-infested warehouse.

“Family Dollar is a victim of the macroeconomic environment,” Dollar Tree CEO Rick Dreiling said on a call with analysts last month.

At least two of the stores, located at 1031 Clinton St. and 1756 Genesee St., closed Saturday.

One rumor among customers is that the stores are closing due to looting that occurred on the East Side during the 2022 Christmas weekend blizzard. It’s a rumor that Family Dollar has done nothing to dispel, it’s therefore a widely held belief among customers and a point of contention.

“It’s terrible to see how much looting there has been, and now this community is tormented,” Jefferson said. “Every time there is a tragedy, we have to pay the price. I don’t know how we’re going to get there.

But Fillmore board member Mitch Nowakowski, who met with parent company Dollar Tree to plead with it to stay open on Broadway and Clinton, said looting didn’t factor into the company’s decision to close its stores. Instead, representatives told them they were getting out of expensive leases and properties they didn’t own.

“In a big company, it’s just numbers on a spreadsheet,” he said. “They say, ‘This doesn’t belong to us?’ We don’t want it. “

Now Nowakowski is putting pressure on the owners.

“Look, you had a tenant at Family Dollar. Did you even bother hiring them to renegotiate a lease so they would stay? » said Nowakowski. “If you did and they close, then what is their plan to not leave me with large vacant structures in my neighborhood? »

The loss of Family Dollar stores at Broadway and Clinton leaves a void that businesses, such as “seedy convenience stores,” are likely to fill, he said.

“Some of these convenience stores shop at Walmart and BJs, they buy in bulk, they cut up the product and then sell individualized items for an extreme markup,” Nowakowski said. “And I can’t let that happen.” It’s just that it’s detrimental to the community.

Because buyers in these neighborhoods have a very high percentage of people without transportation, they are more vulnerable, he said.

“It sets people back and makes them victims, prey to really crummy convenience stores who bring no benefit to the neighborhood or provide products beneficial to their lives, but who essentially exploit their poverty by simply selling alcohol ., cigarettes, lottery and chips,” Nowakowski said.

Masten council member Zeneta Everhart sent a letter to Family Dollar about the Delevan Avenue store closing this week.

“These establishments have been invaluable to our community, providing essential groceries, household items and other products,” she wrote. “Their closure not only raises concerns about access to affordable products for the neighborhood, but also raises concerns about the future of these buildings. They must not become vacant and destroyed.

Everhart researched the reasons for the store’s closure and urged Dollar Tree to reconsider its plans for the store.

“The Masten District needs retail stores in this location,” she wrote.

Thomas Beauford, president and CEO of the Buffalo Urban League, said the closure is troubling for neighborhoods on Buffalo’s East Side.

“The removal of six stores located on Buffalo’s East Side worsens the impact of food insecurity and reduces residents’ access to essential goods,” he said. “The lack of local transportation options further compounds the challenges faced by community members, who will now be forced to travel further to purchase common household items. »

The void left in the community must be filled, he added.

“A strategic path forward should be to add conveniently located stores offering nutritious food options and other products at affordable prices,” he said. “Larger stores with employment opportunities would also be very beneficial to the community,” he said.