Editor’s Note: This is Part 1 of a three-part series examining the rapid expansion of dollar stores in the Gulf South region and the consequences of it. You can read other entries in the series here:
- Part 2: Advocates warn of a ‘dollar store invasion.’ Researchers are still figuring out the consequences
- Part 3: With ‘dollar stores in every direction,’ some communities are saying enough
On a standup album released in 2002, comedian Lewis Black claimed he found “The End of the Universe” in Houston, Texas — two Starbucks stores directly across from each other.