Big Disappointments of Connecticut 2024 – Middlebury’s DG Market

As we look back on the year as it draws to a close I have to say that one of the biggest disappointments of 2024 happened in August. That was the first time that I visited the generic mess that had replaced a local, family-owned grocery store in Middlebury.

National dollar store chains have spread out from our big cities like Waterbury, Danbury and Bridgeport into the small towns surrounding them. I was shocked when Dollar General expanded into Woodbury and Morris, but the worst of their moves was snowing me into believing that their new DG Market concept would be a worthy replacement for Dinova’s Four Corners Grocery Store at 600 Middlebury Road in Middlebury.

I loved shopping in that grocery store, it was the only one in Middlebury, and the prices were just a little bit more than LaBonne’s, my beloved Town Plot IGA, and Stop & Shop. Four Corners is where I discovered Westwood Jerky, I loved the hot to-go foods at the deli, and I always felt like I had the store to myself.

In mid summer, it was announced that the first DG Market in Western Connecticut was the replacement for Four Corners. Unlike Dollar General stores, DG Market was reportedly going to stock meats, produce, and other foods, but what I found was a few national brands of each item, and nothing else. Four Corners had products that were made in Connecticut, DG Market? I didn’t see one. This is the biggest disappointment of 2024 for me.