By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Work is underway to open a new Dollar Tree at 3831 Auburn St., the former home of Aldi grocery store before it moved to West Riverside Boulevard in November.

The store is next to Walgreens and across the street from Family Dollar on the city’s west side. Dollar General, a similar discount chain store, is located a few blocks east on Auburn Street. Aldi is now located at 3801 W. Riverside Blvd.

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“It’s bittersweet because you don’t ever want to have businesses just sitting there being unused,” said Alderwoman Janessa Wilkins, who represents the 7th Ward where the store is located. “While I’m happy that we’re replacing Aldi with another establishment, it’s still kind of hard to take in because we have a Family Dollar right across the street, we have a Dollar General right down the road.

“We’ve got these types of stores throughout the ward and really throughout the city, but we really, truly need a store with fresh produce.”

Wilkins said she’s had several conversations about bringing a grocery store back to that stretch of the ward, but so far there hasn’t been any traction.

A timeline for opening Dollar Tree is not clear. Attempts to reach representatives of Dollar Tree were not successful. The new location was confirmed by the city via building permit records.

Dollar Tree is a publicly traded company headquartered in Virginia that operates a chain of discount convenience and variety stores. It has more than 15,000 stores across the country and Canada. Most goods in the store are sold for $1.25, an increase from $1 that happened in 2022.

The Auburn Street location would be Dollar Tree’s ninth in Rockford and Loves Park, according to its website.

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas