Check Out Family Dollar

I visited the Park Avenue Family Dollar Wednesday  and discovered a lot of new offerings, as well as some decent discounts on name brands. It made me wonder whether they are publicizing the changes in the store. I did not notice any circulars, but when I got home I went online and found a Family Dollar weekly ad featuring sale items. A ZIP code locator shows that Plainfield has two Family Dollar stores, the other being on East Front Street. The online site included a way to click on items and add them to a printable shopping list. Besides what I had picked up at the store, I saw a few more products I use on the flyer and so I will be going back for them.

When the CVS closed and the dollar store moved in around six years ago, I was seriously miffed and didn't set foot in there for a long time. The climate in Plainfield was one of great disdain for dollar stores and nail salons, with talk even of trying to limit their numbers through a business registry. But in a land of entrepreneurs, it is the market that decides what kind of stores succeed in a given area. Apparently the recent upgrade of the Park Avenue Family Dollar means the company finds it to be doing well.

Not all the merchandise is to my liking. As readers know, I often get on the 59 bus or the Raritan Valley Line train to go to Westfield for the categories of goods and groceries I call Things You Can't Buy in Plainfield. But it's good to know that there are some household products that I can get just half a block away and on sale, at Family Dollar. My forays to the Watchung Square Mall come at a price for a driver, since I decided not to get another car when the last one died. I do not want to impose on others for rides, so every once in a while I pay to have someone take me around to several stores up there and lug all my purchases home.

Obviously anyone with a vehicle can roam Central Jersey to go shopping, but Park & Seventh can be a destination as well. If you see anything interesting on the dollar store flyer, you could also pick up a calzone or some garlic knots at Ferraro's, browse Park Hardware for tools or fix-it supplies and take home a slice of Tres Leches cake or cheesecake from The Bread Basket as a reward for doing those weekend chores.

I happen to live very close to Park & Seventh, but it's not that far from other neighborhoods, including a couple of historic districts. I will close with a link to a 2007 blog post on the topic of walkability, and hope that readers will also occasionally explore what's nearby. It could be a pleasant surprise.

--Bernice