MAGNOLIA SPRINGS — Residents of Magnolia Springs and surrounding areas finally have a new place to shop and pick up a few essentials without having to trek to Foley or Fairhope.

The new Family Dollar on U.S. 98 in Magnolia Springs held its grand opening and ribbon cutting on Saturday. The store’s parking lot has been full of curious shoppers, interested to see the new store and cash in on grand opening deals including 2 liter Coke products for 75 cents each.

The store’s opening has been eagerly anticipated for months and construction was completed on the store early last fall.

Josh Braverman, public relations manager for Family Dollar said unforeseen and unavoidable delays could have led to the store opening being pushed back.

“Certainly weather could have played a role or some of the other things that we don’t have any control over,” he said.

According to Magnolia Springs Mayor Charles Houser the store’s opening was delayed because of additional requirements from the Alabama Department of Transportation.

Additional road construction tied up traffic on U.S. 98 in the weeks leading up to Christmas to add a turning lane to the two-lane highway. The Town of Magnolia Springs agreed at the last work session to foot up to $90,000 of the bill for the additional turning lane. The total cost of the project is expected to be in excess of $180,000.

“According to the developer, they came in at the last minute and said they need to push it off another month,” said Houser.

Houser is not pleased the construction has taken so long.

“I let my displeasure be known because this thing has drug out,” he said. “We have missed three months of revenue. We have missed Christmas, which would have been a big budget month,” he said.

Braverman said Family Dollar chose Magnolia Springs as the home for one of the company’s 300 new stores anticipated to open this year because Magnolia Springs is a good fit for the company and he hopes the company will be a good fit for Magnolia Springs as well.

“As we look at opportunities to grow and we plan to open about 300 new stores this year, we look at communities that could really benefit from the value and convenience that we provide. Certainly Magnolia Springs fits in with our mission of being able to provide that to the folks that we serve,” he said.

Houser and the town council have estimated the revenue from the new Family Dollar will bring $2,000 a month to the town.

The new Family Dollar has also already provided jobs for anywhere between five and seven employees, according to Braverman. He said typically all Family Dollar locations have five to seven full-time employees, which includes two full-time managers.

Even though the store just opened and the revenue data is still being compiled, Braverman and the Magnolia Springs Town Council are confident the store will be a fixture in Magnolia Springs for years to come and will be a benefit to all parties involved.

“We have certainly made a commitment to the community so we see ourselves as a long time partner in the community and look forward to serving the folks there,” Braverman said.