T-R PHOTO BY SUSANNA MEYER The Dollar General building at 505 W. Main St. in Le Grand is still under construction. The business is projected to open this spring.

LE GRAND — The days when Le Grand locals have to make an inconvenient trip of 10 miles or more to the east or west for any forgotten items are coming to an end as a new Dollar General is on course to be open on Main Street within the next few months.

Currently, the town doesn’t have a grocery store. There is a gas station with a small selection of grocery items like milk, bread and eggs, but not much past the most basic products. Mayor Shane Sweitzer says this is one of the reasons having a Dollar General in town will be so beneficial for the Le Grand community.

“I think this is going to benefit the citizens so they don’t have to drive to Marshalltown, necessarily, if they forgot a bottle of ketchup,” Sweitzer said. “If they want to do their grocery shopping completely in town now, this gives them an option to do that.”

The building, located at 505 W. Main St., has been under construction since November of last year, and while spring 2022 is the projected date for opening, Emma Hall, the Public Relations Coordinator for Dollar General, said construction progress may alter that date.

Dollar General took a few factors into account when considering Le Grand for the new location, but perhaps the most influential of them all was the proximity of the citizens to the property.

“Meeting our customers’ needs is our top priority when choosing store locations. We look for places where we can offer customers an easy and convenient shopping choice,” Hall wrote in an email. “We know convenience is a major factor in our customers’ shopping decisions, as we generally serve customers within a three-to-five-mile radius, or 10-minute drive. This location was a great fit for Dollar General.”

Sweitzer is excited for Dollar General to open and would like to see more retailers coming to Le Grand. Growing the community, however, would require more property that they currently don’t have. The property that the Dollar General is being built on is the last big commercial lot left in town.

“Right now, unless some farmers sell some farm ground, we’re pretty landlocked when it comes to being able to expand at this point,” Sweitzer said.

While further expansion may be on hold for the time being, Sweitzer has found that everyone he’s spoken with is excited for the store’s grand opening, and they are ready to explore what Dollar General has to offer.

“I know I’ve heard a lot of positives, and I really haven’t heard anybody say anything negative about it coming,” Sweitzer said. “I think it’s going to benefit the citizens greatly.”

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Contact Susanna Meyer at 641-753-6611 or smeyer@timesrepublican.com.