A dollar store, of course.
These bargain basements, with names like Dollar Tree, Dollar City and the 99 Cent Only Store, are popping up on street corners and shopping centers throughout the Modesto area.
A new Dollar Tree opened Thursday at Standiford Avenue and Carver Road in Modesto. A strip mall on Turlock's Golden State Boulevard has two dollar stores within 50 paces of each other.
There are about 15 other dollar and 99-cent stores in Modesto, Turlock and Ceres. That's not counting larger stores that cash in on the dollar-store phenomenon. Target on Modesto's McHenry Avenue has its Dollar Spot, an aisle stocked with things like $1 plastic bracelets, pairs of socks and DVDs.
For die-hard customers, only a true dollar store will do.
Take Kim Saugstad of Modesto. The retired cabinetmaker makes a dollar-store run once a week. He's bought everything from tarps (he used them to catch paint splatters when he painted his house) to glow-in-the-dark plastic frogs (he collects toys).
On Sunday, he left the Standiford Avenue Dollar Tree with motor oil, power steering fluid and two Nerf-like toy darts, among other items. Total cost: $6.
"I'm a fan of the dollar store," he said.
He's not the only one. Nationally, sales at dollar stores are growing at a rate of 10percent to 12 percent a year, compared with grocery stores, where sales are inching up 2 percent to 4 percent, according to ACNielsen, a market research firm.
Most dollar store shoppers come from lower-income households, ACNielsen said. But the more affluent are beginning to discover the bargains. About 45percent of households with an annual income of $70,000 or more shopped dollar stores in 2003.
What's the attraction? The typical dollar store sells candy, toys, health and beauty products, detergents, baby items and more.
The good stuff, dollar store regulars will tell you, is up front.
At the 99 Cent Only Store on Turlock's Golden State Boulevard, towers of 14-ounce cans of Dole Pineapple slices and boxes of Pillsbury cake mixes greet customers as they enter.
Dollar Tree, just steps away, lures customers in with racks of holiday garlands and children's sweat suits displayed on the sidewalk.
At Dollar Tree on Standiford, you can find a King James version of the Bible, a Dale Earnhardt Sr. photo album, Shasta cola, Kleenex tissues, Tic-Tacs, Pampers training pants, Neon Magic Dough (something like Play Doh) and a selection of decorative porcelain lighthouses, plus many other items.
The lighthouses, available at Dollar Trees, have a bit of a following. Dianne Hernandez, a retired saleswoman from Modesto, collects them. She and her husband, Rudy, go to a dollar store at least three times a week.
They stock up on such things as batteries, gift wrap and sta-tionery. They've even purchased computer programs for $1.
"You find all kinds of unusual things," Dianne Hernandez said. "You can't get these prices anywhere else."
Bee staff writer Kerry McCray