Family Dollar Opens at Brandon Spot Once Thought 'Cursed'

Are you glad to see a Family Dollar in Brandon? Do you think it will last? What other stores would you like to see open here? Post your comments below.

A Family Dollar has opened in Brandon at a site once thought to be cursed because of so many failed establishments.

The store at 509 E. Brandon Blvd. — a property once home to Morrison's Buffet and Grill, Gatorz Southern Rock Cafe, Bedroc's and others — is now open for business, according to the real estate group that helped broker the deal.

The location, near the corner of Brandon Boulevard and Montclair Avenue, has one of the highest traffic counts in Hillsborough County, with more than 80,000 cars passing by per day, according to a Tampa Commercial Real Estate press release. But broker Steven Silverman found that traffic passed by too quickly for impulse customers to stop.

"Traffic is moving too fast," Silverman told the Tampa Bay Times in a story about the property earlier this month, "so they're not getting the spur-of-the-moment kind of people. By the time you see it, it's gone."

Silverman's solution? A general merchandise store like Family Dollar that was a destination and a need in the Brandon market, according to his research.

Founded in 1958 in Charlotte, NC, Family Dollar operates nearly 7,000 stores across the country. While it sells many items for $1, there are other price points as well, though 90 percent of Family Dollar's products cost less than $10.