Dollar Tree

Tony the manager on Flatbush Ave flirts with his staff over text message. He talks to all the women staff trying to talk to them sexually.

Woe, I’m about to tell you a funny ass story about this place. You’ll love it– pull up a chair.
So anyways, on the site of this particular store (it’s not «Dollar Tree» anymore, BTW, it’s Dollar Tree Deal$ or «Deal$») used to be a Mom and Pop 99 cent store (I think it was called 99 Cent Dreams or something like that). Great place. Shabby chic, but it was great. Also had a lot of products that catered to the community, so lots of Asian, Spanish, and Caribbean food on the shelves.
Then Dollar Tree arrived on the block, took over the retail space that 99 Cents used to occupy and forced it to move next door.
When Dollar Tree took over, locals couldn’t have abandoned the old Mom and Pop store fast enough. They flocked to DT in droves. This is because DT was shinier and purtier, with nice carpeting, blinding fluorescent lighting and 60s music playing in the background. None of that shabby chic, just that antiseptic chain store ambience we’ve all come to know and love from CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, etc. And of course, the food inventory was scrubbed clean of anything exotic. Nothing weird, colorful, or foreign, like «Egg Drop Soup» packets by Maggi or Goya beans or Jamaican jerk marinade. Just bland foodstuffs in pretty labels with «All American» sounding brands producing knock offs of more popular «All American» brands.
Meanwhile, 99 Cent Dreams tanked within a month after DT moved in. It had been at that location at least 10 years– maybe longer– and the ungrateful residents of Brownsville ditched it like a homeboy ditching shorty after learning that he’s about to have another Baby Momma.
Fast forward… and look at what happened. As soon as 99 Cent Dreams closed, maintenance and management went downhill at Dollar Tree. The store was so understaffed, that at any given moment, it was typical to find literally 20 – 30 people on line with only two cashiers open. In fact, for over a year there was rarely a day when you wouldn’t have to spend at least 20 minutes on line.
Then came the Mystery Stench. About a year after it opened, Dollar Tree suddenly developed the worst, most overpowering stench you could ever imagine. The stench was so foul and so unlike anything you had ever smelled, it was impossible to pinpoint what it was. It was like the Rorschach tests of stenches, where one moment it smelled like vomit and the next moment like days old dried feces at the zoo and the next moment after that something else. At one point, I actually thought it might’ve been Jimmy Hoffa finally, his body finally emerging after all these years. Who knows? Stranger things have happened.
And this stench lasted for MONTHS– day in, day out, with no end in sight.
Several months after the stench emerged, DT «closed down for repairs». Then it later reopened and became– taa daa – «Dollar Tree Deals!» (or Deal$). Better service, better management, no stench, more inventory– but now with higher prices! Huzzah!
So basically, management pulled a fast one on the community– got them all excited over a 99 cent store, then ran it into the ground so that locals would be soooo grateful when a higher priced version eventually took over. Moral of the story? Support your local business!
I guess I could begrudge how Deal$ came to be, but I won’t. It’s ancient history how– besides, Deal$ is here to stay so I have to review it. So here’s my review. It’s decent for what it is. It’s basically a better looking, cleaner version of «Family Dollar.» Same products more or less, same price range, same everything– just better selection in terms of holiday stuff (décor, trimmings, party favors, etc).
Prices range from the sublime (like a box of fish sticks for $ 3 and change) to the ridiculous ($ 25 school bags that look like they’re worth half that much). But most of the prices are okay, much cheaper than what you’d find at a supermarket or pharmacy chain. Store is also well staffed, so no excessively long lines at checkout. And thank God– no more RORSCACH STENCH!!! All in all a great place and vast improvement from the poopy smelling Dollar Tree. Plus it has a hilarious backstory and who could hate a place with such a great backstory? Four stars.

I was in Coney Island, far from home, and needed to get to the closest Dollar Tree. Big Mistake. This dollar tree stunk literally, was dirty and didn’t have any of the items that I can usually find in the other Dollar Tree I go to. I spent about 4 minutes shopping and paying which is the fastest time on record I have ever spent in a Dollar Tree. Never again. Just because your in the hood doesn’t mean your business have to be a piece of crap.