‘Do we really need another dollar store?’

The demolition of the old Yellowstone Motel and the clearing of that lot over the last couple of weeks sure lot has generated some lively discussion.

Unfortunately very little of it has been positive.  While losing a motel is a hit, most locals seem to be viewing it differently than they would the demise of a favorite restaurant, bar or coffee shop.

Instead, the negativity is being directed at what's going to be replacing it. Dollar General is moving in, with plans to be open by this fall.

In many circles, the most often asked question has been, do we really need another dollar store?  We have two already in the Family Dollar stores here and in Basin.  

Our understanding is this Dollar General will be one of the chain’s larger stores.  At about 10,000 square feet, it'll be about the same size as the Basin Family Dollar and about half the size of Lynn's and Ace.

Thermopolis has a Dollar General of about 12,000 square feet. Not much to look at -- a long, non-descript building with a little yellow Dollar General sign.

We'll wait and see and hope for the best.

That said, the opening up of that lot has given us all permission to play community development director and try to come up with things that would work well there and improve our town.

The commercial ones that kept surfacing in my mind were a gas station/convenience store or a farm supply store to replace the goods lost with the closure of the Big Horn Co-op.  

Too late now, but what made even more sense would have been putting the proposed dinosaur museum and some nice parking on that lot. It would have been a win-win, as the green space could have been retained along with the additional parking.

Whatever happens, there's been a good vibe in that part of town. A lot of work has been invested in improving our museum, which was highlighted during a recent open house. 

And there remains a very strong connection between the community and its library system, which was apparent during a recent meeting of the library board. 

Those are good things. 

Time will tell when it comes to our newest addition. 

— Nathan Oster