Garland’s District 2 residents to get long overdue convenience store

by Camille Davis of North Dallas Gazette

Residents of Garland’s District 2 will soon have access to a new QuikTrip convenience store on the corner of Main and First streets, an amenity long overdue, according to their former Councilwoman, Terry Dunn.

“My goal as a council person was to work to bring back those services that the residents said they needed,” said Dunn.

District 2 is what Ms. Dunn affirmingly refers to as a “vintage” area of Garland.

“ I call this area vintage - not old or bad,” she said.

Garland’s First Quarter, the area where First and Main streets are located, once was the site of a thriving business community that provided groceries, gas, and professional services to its citizens. Now the area is a mecca for tire and automotive shops - businesses that Dunn believes are important to the area but not enough to provide all of the needs of those living near by. Dunn has lived in her current home in the District 2 area for over 30 years and ran for the City Council seat that her husband, Jimmie, was vacating in 2004. She ran on a platform of community renewal and revitalization of what she calls, “quality of life services.”

“The inner city should be provided for.” Dunn said. “This is my home, and these are my neighbors.”

Dunn said she recommended the building of a QuikTrip convenience store to her fellow council members because of its competitive prices, cleanliness and quality food product. She said that its prices and selection are similar to some of the better grocery stores in Garland. She wanted residents to have a place to purchase gasoline and food without leaving their neighborhood. Dunn said that it was unfair for District 2 citizens to travel inordinate distances in order to purchase basic services. According to Dunn, “District 2 citizens were paying more for their needs,” because of the distance they had to travel in order to make purchases.

According to QuikTrip.com, all store locations are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The website also boasts of “bright lighting both inside and out, as well as video cameras and raised checkout for better visibility.” Perhaps most unique is the store’s pledge not to carry “adult magazines.”

QuikTrip will also benefit District 2 by delivering jobs. Although the convenience store site is still under development, signs are posted advertising positions for employment. At a time when numerous Americans are losing jobs, any organization that advertises work is a positive change from the national trend.

QuikTrip was voted one of Fortune magazine's Top 100 Best Companies to work for in 2008, and one of its local stores in Plano received a score of A- from the Better Business Bureau.

According to Dunn, a member of the NAACP Executive Committee, many of the residents of District 2 are elderly and/or minorities. She said that many District 2 residents are responsible for building Garland and should not be forgotten solely because the city has new development.

“You don’t have to be brand new to have something clean and have a good quality of life,” she said.

Terry Dunn also refers to the citizens of the district as “residents” instead of “constituents” or something else, less personal.

“{The word} resident is more of a heart thing,” she explains. “It has more of a meaning of people with a vested interest in a city.”

If this is so, then Dunn is a resident of District 2. She expresses a “love for the city and the home” in which she and her husband live.

Former Councilman Jimmie Dunn believes that the opening of the QuikTrip will be the beginning of other positive changes in the area.

“I’m quite sure that this will be the catalyst that puts the long needed revitalization into a high gear,” he said.

During his two terms in office, Councilman Jimmie Dunn also had similar goals of community refurbishment for District 2.

“Many of the buildings[ in the district] had outside storage with high wire fences, and razor wire and barbed wire on top,” he said. “We (he and other council members) passed an ordinance prohibiting razor wire and barbed wire.”

Both Dunns hope that the QuikTrip convenience store is the beginning of many new businesses in the First Quarter and in District 2. They vow to continue working for the district, whether or not they hold public office.

“Things come to those who wait, as long as they work really hard while they wait,” Mr. Dunn said.

“Mrs. Dunn adds, “It’s about the people, and I am one of them.”