Dollars & Sense liquidation now at old Tyler Street Market space

By RICK GREEN, LACONIA DAILY SUN

LACONIA — Unloading items from the back of a truck Monday, Chris Van Lenten said he's never quite sure what he'll find inside the banana boxes.

One thing's for sure, there are no bananas.

Van Lenten's Dollars & Sense liquidation store, which operates where the Tyler Street Market did business for years, carries foodstuffs that that are approaching or have just exceeded their sell-by dates. The store opened two months ago.

There's no produce, dairy or meat items, but the food that he does carry, including cereal, coffee and peanut butter, are often less expensive than items at nearby grocery stores. The products have been liquidated by other stores and made available in mixed loads for resale.

Dollars & Sense also carries merchandise that has been discontinued or that consumers have previously purchased and returned.

Using the bar code on a product, Van Lenten is able to find the typical retail price for an item. He cuts that price in half and puts it on his shelf.

“We are undercutting everybody else,” he said. “We cater to people in all walks of life. This neighborhood is lower income. We cater to people who really need to stretch their dollar. People come here and get their staples, before they go to a Market Basket or a Shaw's. We're not a convenience store and were not a supermarket. We're kind of in between.”

For years, the store at 92 Pine St. was the Tyler Street Market, which included meat and deli items.

Smaller markets have faced strong competition from large supermarkets in recent years, but there has been some expansion in the discount store sector.

There are several Mr. G's liquidation centers in Vermont and New Hampshire, including one in Tilton.

In June, the Aldi chain of discount stores announced a $3.4 billion capital investment program to expand to 2,500 stores nationwide by the end of 2022.

Chris Van Lenten, owner of Dollars & Sense Liquidation, displays some of his goods Monday. The store operates where the Tyler Street market once did business. (Rick Green/Laconia Daily Sun)