NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Residents in New Orleans East voiced frustrations and warned of a growing “food desert” as plans were announced to shutter the four remaining Dollar General stores in the area.
The discount retailer did not give a reason for the closures, but one former employee and various community activists said frequent shoplifting and theft was a factor in the decision.
Dollar General said it plans to close five New Orleans locations by mid-August.
“Employees will have the opportunity to transfer to nearby stores,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “We have a longstanding history in the Crescent City, having opened our first DG more than 40 years ago, and we remain committed to serving local communities in New Orleans at our other locations.”
Fox 8 found signs notifying customers of impending closures at these Dollar General locations, four of which are in New Orleans East:
- 10800 Chef Menteur Hwy.
- 5700 Crowder Blvd.
- 6500 Downman Rd.
- 11020 Morrison Rd.
- 4515 Old Gentilly Rd.
“I don’t like it, because they’re taking all our dollar stores,” said shopper Antoinette Tobias. “They say they’re closing down because they’re being stolen out of.”
A search of publicly available data from NOPD showed 18 calls for service for reported theft from the Dollar General location on Chef Menteur Highway, 28 calls for the Downman Road location and 27 calls from the block where the location on Morrison Road is situated, since Jan. 1.
Tony Barton, a former employee at the now-closed Morrison Road location, said shoplifting was a major issue, but also brought up issues with management and supervision of the stores and their employees.
“They did not tell why they were closing the stores, but the ideas of why the stores are closing is pretty broad,” he said. “For people that aren’t able to drive to go to a Walmart or to go to a Target — that’s even farther than a Walmart — it affects them heavily.”
Dollar General operates more than 19,000 stores nationwide, and in March the company announced plans to open an additional 800 stores.
While the company is expanding nationally, its presence in New Orleans is contracting, which has drawn the ire of community activist Aeisha Kelly.
“I think that there is enough blame to go around on the community’s end, and also the corporate end,” Kelly said. “We’re talking about food deserts. We’re talking about the inability to travel to different stores. We’re talking about the inability to be able to purchase good and quality foods.”
Kelly also spoke of the decline of the buildings and property once Dollar General leaves town, pointing to a recently closed Family Dollar on Chef Highway that has since become an illegal dumping ground for tires.
“The more of these locations we see close, the more of these activities we see happening,” she said.
In July, Dollar General agreed to pay out $12 million in penalties in a Department of Labor settlement over unsafe working conditions, also agreeing to implement safety improvements in stores such as reducing inventory and increasing stocking efficiency to prevent blocked exits.
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