Dollar General Corp. is a U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 chain of variety stores headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee

Goodlettsville, Tennessee

Goodlettsville is a city in Davidson and Sumner counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Goodlettsville was incorporated as a city in 1958 with a population of just over 3,000 residents; at the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 13,780. Goodlettsville chose to remain autonomous in 1963...

. As of January 2011, Dollar General operated over 9,300 stores in 35 U.S. states.

The stores were founded in 1939 by Cal Turner in Scottsville, Kentucky

Scottsville, Kentucky

Scottsville is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 4,327 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Scottsville is located at ....

 as J.L. Turner & Son, Inc. In 1968 the business changed its name to Dollar General Corporation. In 2007 the company was acquired by the private equity

Private equity

Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....

 firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

KKR & Co. L.P. is an American-based global private equity firm, specializing in leveraged buyouts, based in New York. The firm sponsors and manages private equity investment funds. Since its inception, the firm has completed over $400 billion of private equity transactions and was a pioneer in...

 (KKR), which took the company public in 2009.

Dollar General stores are typically in small shopping

Shopping

Shopping is the examining of goods or services from retailers with the intent to purchase at that time. Shopping is an activity of selection and/or purchase. In some contexts it is considered a leisure activity as well as an economic one....

 plaza

Plaza

Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be...

s or strip mall

Shopping mall

A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...

s in local neighborhoods.