“Bottom Dollar” is latest entrant in discount grocery wars

If you happen to have visited the United States in the last few years, you would have noticed that going grocery shopping now means heading for giant warehouses like Sam’s Club, Costco, and B.J.’s. And while Belize may not be ready for such mega-stores, the local trend has definitely been toward discount groceries like Public’s, Xtra House, and Wellworth. Today a new competitor joined the price wars, one with an old and well-known history.

Santiago “Santino” Castillo, Owner, Bottom Dollar Store
“We would like to have a store that will cater to the grassroots people, to those Belizeans who are looking to stretch your dollar, which is the slogan we came up with for Bottom Dollar. So we decided to come up with a name for the store that describes that, Bottom Dollar. Prices will be at rock bottom.”

Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
It may have been the hype or the hope of bargains, but Bottom Dollar was packed this morning with many shoppers waiting in long lines to pay for their purchases.

Santiago “Santino” Castillo
“I was pleasantly surprise when I got here at eight-thirty to see a couple hundred people outside waiting for the store to open. And in fact at nine o’clock they were telling me, “Mr. Santi dah done nine o’clock, please open the store. Sun hot out yah.”

“The people came in and we ran out of our three hundred baskets in no time. So if that is going to be a problem that we will have, running out of baskets, I could live with that.”

The new store joined other discount centres in the city to continue the trend toward no frills grocery shopping. According to proprietor Santiago “Santino” Castillo, his new store will offer both low prices and pleasant surroundings.

Santiago “Santino” Castillo
“What we have done, if you noticed the place is clean and has a lot of space, it is very spacious. But what we have done is we have not air-conditioned it and we noted that air condition, the electricity bill at Save-U is very high, it eats up a lot of the profits. So by not air conditioning it, we have put in a lot of fans, good ventilation, we can keep our prices at rock bottom and make sure that we can compete with the low end supermarkets right across the river.”

So did the shoppers really save money?

Shopper #1
“It’s nice to shop at the dollar down store. I see everything is much cheaper and you know we have to stretch our dollars.”

Shopper #2
“I don’t notice that much difference in the price; Public’s is much cheaper. I really don?t noticed, I got a few things, the ones that I got, make a difference, so I bought that because I need it for this month.”

Shopper #3
“Some of the things right here is expensive more than Public’s or anywhere else. And then you spend the money and then you have to look around to see where you can get the things cheaper.”

Shopper #4
“Well somewhat, somewhat, but you have to really check, you really have to look around.”

Jacqueline Woods
“And do you like the environment?”

Shopper #5
“Yes, it is very good the environment, its clean and nice, it?s spacious.”

Shopper #6
“Some of the prices are alright Jacqueline, but you can get them cheaper at other places.”

“The place is nice, only the heat; as you can see I am sweating. But the prices are okay and it’s convenient, it’s a nice spot, nice people.”

Shopper #7
“Yes, there’s a difference in the prices. Some stuff you really get deals on. Like I notice that some of the stuff you get a deal, like you buy a ketchup, you get something free. So you do see a difference in the prices.”

Santiago Castillo
“We are planning to have one of these in San Pedro by early next year if not by the ending of next year, we have already purchased the property and the building, and then move to San Ignacio next. But hopefully in the next ten years there will be a lot of Bottom Dollars around Belize.”

Whether or not you are impressed with the prices, one fact that was not disputed by the shoppers is that the new store is a clean and convenient addition to the Belize City shopping scene.

Bottom Dollar is located on North Front Street just across from the Holy Redeemer Cathedral. It has bathroom facilities and free parking for customers.