By Jim Misunas
jmisunas@gbtribune.com

Dollar General’s employees at 1701 Main have picked up everything and moved over to the new location at 2400 10th Street in Great Bend.
Customers enjoy having access to the store on nearby Morphy Street.
“It’s a great location, right in the middle of 10th with access off Morphy Street,” said Linda Harper, Dollar General manager. “Everyone is pretty excited to run a business from a new store.”
Now, it’s grand opening time for the new Dollar General store, which features 7,200 square feet of space, a boost of 2,000 square feet. Dollar General is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day.
“The extra space allows us to carry more items,” Harper said. “Over on Main Street, we had five cooler doors and now we have 16 cooler doors. We have baby formula here, and didn’t have that over there.”
The new store opened Jan. 25, but will showcase a grand opening at 8 a.m. Saturday. The first 50 customers will receive $10 gift cards. The first 200 shoppers will receive a Dollar General tote bag, among other giveaways. Postcards promoting the grand opening will be sent in the mail.Shoppers can view available coupons at dollargeneral.com.
Harper said opening a new store actually is pretty easy. She’s a local success story, starting as a cashier in 1993 and working her way up to store manager with her friendly demeanor.
“There’s nothing we have to adapt to a different spot because someone is giving us advice. We know where everything is supposed to go,” Harper said. “It’s easy because all of the items have found a home. I’ve got great help. We’re having fun fitting everything into the store.”
The Dollar General store features seven employees.
Dollar General’s new location features include seasonal products featured in the center of the store, recognizable departments with visible signage and coolers that are conveniently located at the front of the store.
“Dollar General is committed to delivering a pleasant shopping experience that includes a convenient location, a wide assortment of merchandise and great prices on quality products,” said Dan Nieser, Dollar General’s vice president of store development.  “We hope our Great Bend customers will continue to enjoy shopping at Dollar General’s new location.”
C.R. Crawford Construction from Fayetteville, Ark., was the general contractor. Foreman Joe Holly coordinated the work crews.
Other contract businesses were Mark Sharkey Construction, Otis, concrete flooring; Stueder Contractors Inc., plumbing; Haynes Electric, electrical; Golden Mechanical, Arlington, Texas, heating and air conditioning.
Nelson Stone of Stone Sand Company operated an excavator which removed remnants of a former gas station at 10th Street and Morphy. A 12-foot hole was necessary to remove all of the potentially hazardous remnants of the former gas station.