Family Dollar enlists celebrity chef

Family Dollar continues to aggressively promote its food offerings, partnering with celebrity chef Melissa d'Arabian (of Food Network's "Ten Dollar Dinner") in a contest to find frugal, Family Dollar-based recipes.

Customers can enter the "Dollar Dinners for the Holidays" contest at www.familydollar.com. There, you'll be able to enter a recipe, drawing on ingredients found at Family Dollar stores and within a cost range. D'Arabian will help select the winner, who gets a private entertaining consultation with the chef celeb and a $500 Family Dollar gift card.

The winner will be chosen in early 2012, Family Dollar said. The company, with just over 7,000 locations, has increased the amount of food available in its stores. Family Dollar (and other low-cost retailers) are trying to lure customers in for fill-in trips by offering a basic selection of groceries, nipping at the heels of Wal-Mart Supercenters and traditional grocers along the way.

You can read Family Dollar's announcement and more about the contest's conditions here.

Family Dollar promotes store redesigns, new merchandise

Matthews-based Family Dollar held an event with bloggers and journalists in Charlotte on Tuesday to tout its redesigned stores and new goods, as the chain continues expanding rapidly.

Family Dollar, which opened its 7,000th store this year, is in a highly competitive retail category that puts it head to head with other dollar stores such as Dollar General, mega-chains such as Wal-Mart and convenience stores like Rite-Aid.

Tuesday's event was at the new Family Dollar store at 4301 East W.T. Harris Boulevard. Store officials said they're trying to emphasize the range of products carried in the store. They're hoping consumers will start thinking about Family Dollar for more than dollar store staples.

"People think it's a dollar store, it's a great place to buy detergent," said VP of merchandising Donna Barker, . She pointed to a selection of home goods, such as a $12 framed and matted painting, a $20 clock and $2 picture frames. alongiside kitchen accessories such as $10 coffee makers and toaster ovens.

The chain is much more focused on getting on trend than when she joined, Barker said, and offering customers the latest styles, not just the best prices.

Family Dollar is in the midst of a chain-wide overhaul of its existing stores in addition to opening new ones. The renovated stores have a different layout, with brighter overhead lights. Family Dollar has also expanded its food selection in all stores, another component the retailer touted Tuesday.

Although Family Dollar's core customer is still a person making $40,000 or less and looking to make ends meet, company officials said they're still seeing more customers from other income segments seeking good deals.

The company reports its first quarter earnings in January, and executives will have to show Wall Street they can continue the growth spurt that the little retailer from Matthews has been on.