Everything in the store is $1 or less

By Angie Landsverk

Dollar Tree opened on Waupaca’s west side on Thursday, June 11.

The 8,700-square-foot store is located at 914 Furman Drive, in the former Stu’s Home Interiors building.

A ribbon cutting preceded last Thursday’s grand opening.

About a dozen people stood in the parking lot, waiting for the doors of Dollar Tree to open.

Some people stopped by 30 minutes before it was set to open.

“Everything is a dollar, and it’s going to stay everything is a $1 or less,” District Manager Steve Holtz said after the ribbon cutting.

The local Dollar Tree has a total of 15 employees, with some full time and others part time.

The store is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

The June 11 opening is the culmination of more than a year of planning, Holtz said.

Initially, plans called for the store to open last year.

Holtz said a drainage issue first had to be addressed.

He said there are now more than 5,000 Dollar Tree stores in the “lower 48 and Canada.”

In addition, Dollar Tree is in the process of buying Family Dollar, which has more than 8,000 stores, Holtz said.

While Dollar Tree usually does not open a store in communities of less than 8,000, it made an exception for Waupaca, he said.
“We had lots of requests from customers here,” he said in explaining the decision to open a store in Waupaca.

Dollar Tree takes up a portion of the former Stu’s Home Interiors building.

According to Core Commercial Inc., of Appleton, a total of 2,073 square feet is currently available for lease next to Dollar Tree. That space could be divided for two tenants if a smaller space is desired.

Holtz said Dollar Tree looks forward to being in the community.

“We’ve had a lot of people stopping and asking when we were going to open. We hired 31 people just to help set up. We found them easily,” he said.