Dollar Store

Discount variety shops earn their keep on convenience rather than depth. You go for the thing you forgot, the party supplies, the cheap storage bin, the greeting card on the way to somebody's birthday, and the trip is worth it because it took eleven minutes instead of an afternoon. Dollar Store trades from 1950 Harvey Ave, a commercial address on the Dilworth side of the valley floor that it shares with a couple of other businesses.

What separates one variety shop from another is mostly stock rotation and the mix of goods on the shelves: some lean toward kitchen and cleaning basics, others carry more seasonal and craft supplies, and the seasonal swing in the Okanagan is pronounced. Beach and picnic gear moves through the hot, dry summers when the lake is the centre of everyone's plans, then gives way to wrapping paper and indoor projects through the short grey winter. If you need one specific item and the drive is more than a few minutes, phoning first is the difference between one trip and two. Bring a rough written list as well. Shops of this kind are designed so that browsing costs you money, which is either the appeal or the hazard depending on the day.