Andalusia is getting another Dollar General.

Dan MacDonald, senior director of corporate communications for Dollar General, said Wednesday that the new store, which will be located on Hwy. 55 South near Samurai, will feature the retailer’s new store format.

“It will have 22 cooler doors, which means a broader selection of frozen and refrigerated food offerings,” he said. “The format also features an expanded health and beauty section and a more efficient check out. Customers love it.”

MacDonald said the sales floor is roughly 7,300 feet.

MacDonald said that construction started in October and that the slab was poured on Nov. 23.

“We expect a soft opening in mid-February and a grand opening the first weekend in March,” he said. “At the grand opening, the store will open at 8 a.m., and the first 50 adult customers will receive a $10 gift card and the first 200 adult customers will receive a DG tote bag with goodies and great discount coupon savings.”

The new store will employ six to 10 employees, which MacDonald said would depend on the store’s need.

“When choosing store locations, meeting customers’ needs is Dollar General’s top priority,” he said. “The company looks for places where we can offer customers an easy and convenient shopping choice. We know convenience is a major factor in our customers’ shopping decisions as we generally serve customers with a three-to-five-mile radius or 10-minute drive. We also take demographic trends, competitive factors, traffic patterns and community concerns into consideration.”

The store makes the fourth store in Andalusia.

Andalusia Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Chrissie Duffy said this is good news.

“When one door closes, another door opens, but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us,” Duffy said. “This quote from Alexander Graham Bell is so true. We are all devastated by the news of Sitel closing, but we must quickly focus on the opportunities and doors that are being opened to us. While our industrial development leaders are pursuing leads in areas like agri-commerce, aerospace and manufacturing, we are also seeing a great uptick in interest and development of our retail outlets. This month already we’ve opened the doors to three new small businesses, with a new Dollar General breaking ground. Good things are in the works for Covington County.”