Dollar General Market will open March 31 in downtown Rocky Top
The DG Market sign has been erected to replace “Shop-Rite” on the building in down- town Rocky Top where the new grocery store will open March 31. (photo:G Chambers Williams III )
This will be the first supermarket in Rocky Top since the Shop-Rite closed in 2018, bringing an end to what had become something of a “food desert” in north Anderson County.
The developer, JMB Investments of Knoxville, closed on the $457,000 purchase of the Shop-Rite building in early November 2022, and was issued a building permit by the city of Rocky Top for $886,850 in upgrades and improvements to the property last Nov. 22.
“They have told us they plan to be open by March, and it will be a full-service grocery store,” Foster said in late November. “This is something the people of Rocky Top have been wanting for a long time now, and we have been working hard to get that done. Our work has finally paid off.”
Raven Construction of Knoxville has been the contractor for the work on the 20,915 square-foot building, Foster said.
Of the total space, 11,000 square feet will be used for the shopping area, with the rest of the space reserved for storage and future expansion, Foster said during the March City Council meeting last Thursday night.
“This is the same contractor who built the other Dollar General here, as well as the new Fast Pace medical clinic,” Foster said. “This will be very good for Rocky Top.”
The current Dollar General store on Norris Freeway will remain open.
A DG Market differs from a regular Dollar General store by its much-larger size and being stocked as a full grocery store, including fresh fruits, vegetables and meats. DG Markets even have ads listing weekly specials like most supermarkets do.
More information about the DG Markets and their weekly specials may be found online at: dollargeneral.com/market.html
The Dollar General Store on Norris Freeway between Main Street and Interstate 75 does offer a limited selection of grocery items, including some fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as some cold and frozen food products. But it is not a full supermarket.