Dollar Store on Valley Opens

The Dollar Variety and Discount Store on Valley Street has opened.

It's a bit later than promised. Store ownerMasood Abbasi told . But May 25 isn't off by much.

Dollar Variety and Discount opened in the space formally occupied by  on Valley Street. The 17,000 square foot store is more of an inexpensive department store offering 10,000 different items under its roof, according to the store’s distributor. Abbasi also runs a similar operation at 310 Main Street location in Orange,Dollar Master, Inc.

The store stocks hardware, bath, bedding, toiletries, accessories and food items. Abbasi says pricing is competitive with other budget-oriented stores and wholesale liquidating chains.

Patch stopped in this morning and found lots of nonperishable foods: cooking oil, cans of bean, pasta, pudding packs, soft drinks. There was a wall full of socks, a wall full of hair toys and a wall full of artificial — but lovely — flowers.

An aisle boasted bags of candy for $1 — great for birthday party goodie bags. There were paper towels and laundry detergent and dish detergent, umbrellas, toddler chairs and more.

An aisle full of new refigeration units was being hooked up while we visited.

And the air conditioning was working just great.

The store has not undergone major renovations — it's the same sliding doors and linoleum floors from the A&P, but the place smells clean, it's cool inside and it seems to be doing brisk business.

Plus, it's open seven days a week: From 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.

Want to know more? Some early shoppers have posted their reviews on MaplewoodOnline.

- Lauren Bright Pacheco contributed to this story.

Have you already shopped Dollar Variety? What did you think?