Cumberland Family Dollar store is closed

CUMBERLAND − Family Dollar is closing 35 stores and laying off 265 employees in Ohio this month, including the store in Cumberland. The store was at 349 N. Cambridge St.

A WARN layoff notice to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services said that some, if not all, employees were set to be laid off by April 20.

According to posts on the Daily Jeffersonian’s Facebook page, having the convenience of the Family Dollar in Cumberland was one of the things Jessica McKinney Nicholas and Carla Jo Leonard appreciated.

“Living in Cumberland, it was nice. I was in there almost daily. It was so nice to be able to grab a few things here and there without running to the closest town. Now I have to make sure to make a list and not forget things because it’s not as easy as running across the street,” Nicholas said in her post.

Leonard posted, “It was a super nice store with employees that took pride in it and the work they did. It was so nice to just be able to go there and get what I needed versus driving 30 minutes away to pick something up. ( The store) was also convenient for people camping at AEP campground, travelers driving through the area going to The Wilds, and for workers in the area to stop in and grab something.

Dale Parsons, the acting mayor of Cumberland, is saddened by the store closure.

“When it came here, it was great for everyone that lives down here. Cambridge is practically the only place you can go that’s close. Everyone loved it and the staff down there was the best. I don’t know who does the training for their company but they were very, very helpful. Since they’ve gone, it’s taken its toll on people. People are really sad about it mostly, but I can’t understand why they pulled the back out so quickly,” said Parsons.

An announcement came earlier in the year that roughly 600 Family Dollar stores will close across the nation after Dollar Tree, the parent company announced significant underperformance.

The Conesville Family Dollar store in Coshocton County was also on the list of locations to be closed.

According to Dollar Tree press release, “….the company announced that it had initiated a comprehensive store portfolio optimization review which involved identifying stores for closure, relocation, or re-banning based on an evaluation of current market conditions and individual store performance , among other factors.”

The review resulted in the announcement of closing approximately 600 Family Dollar stores in the first half of 2024. Looking ahead, approximately 370 Family Dollar and 30 Dollar Tree stores are slated to close over the next several years at the end of each store’s current lease term .

Family Dollar has more than 450 Ohio stores, according to data scraping sites like ScrapeHero and Smartscrapers. It’s number three in the nation behind Florida with about 570 and Texas with more than 1,100.

In Cambridge, the remaining Family Dollar store is at 2355 E. Wheeling Ave.