When I lived in Rochester, MN, I couldn't tell you whether there was a dollar store at the time. I was a different shopper back then. My grocery stores of choice were Rainbow (rest in supermarket peace) and Hy-Vee. ShopKo (also in department store heaven) and Walmart were my stores for cheaper items.
While I was briefly in the city back in late September, I decided to check out this Dollar Tree. It's on the southwest corner of Highway 14 and Broadway Avenue South, near the ear of corn water tower.
It's roughly a three-minute drive from Trader Joe's. I was at that store getting a few food items for breakfast and lunch before driving over here.
This Dollar Tree is in a plaza. Across from it is a Chick-Fil-A that I had never seen before. I parked and walked in on a Sunday evening.
I like that each store is different. The stationery section was in front of me when I walked in. It looked like staff were doing stocking activities, so there were boxes everywhere. I did like the punny stickers in this aisle.
I looked at the laundry detergent section. I tend to bring my own when I travel. Sometimes, I run out, so I like to check out what's out there. The Downy scent boosters were the right price and size for travel. I don't know what April fresh smells like. Rain? Flowers? I'm still intrigued.
Dollar Tree tends to have a frozen food section, whereas Dollarama does not. I'm glad that I got breakfast items from Trader Joe's. This store was out of your traditional frozen breakfast items. Ice cream was also limited.
I saw key lime pie. Two individual slices. I got a box. I was also happy to see mandu. I didn't get them, but I may have to next time.
I did load up on snacks. I got the last bag of Sweet Chaos white cheddar popcorn. I also got Skinny Pop, mini Oreos, and Candy Pop with mini M&M's.
There was only one staffer at the checkout. There were two folks in front of me. The lineup moved fast.
The staffer was friendly. I paid with a credit card as she bagged my items. I tapped and paid. I thanked her, grabbed my bag full of snacks, and left.
I will say that Sweet Chaos does a better job with popcorn and drizzle, such as caramel or chocolate, than going with plain white cheddar. It was okay, but other varieties of white cheddar popcorn are better. My snacks did last the full four days that I was in the Twin Cities.
The key lime pie slices were excellent. Each slice was perfect to satisfy my love for tart key lime dessert. I'd get them again.
I'm glad that I stopped by my first Dollar Tree in Rochester. I hope that the frozen food freezers will have more items the next time I'm back.
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