Sixty-two Dirt Cheap locations — once a staple for budget-conscious shoppers — across eight states now sit empty after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Oct. 10.
The closures, which include stores and warehouses in Mississippi, leave behind not only vacant buildings but displaced workers and limited retail options in rural communities that relied on the discount chain for affordable goods.
Unlike other national chain discount stores, such as Dollar General or Big Lots, Dirt Cheap specialized in liquidated goods and salvage items, offering steep discounts on everything from furniture to electronics.
Of the 62 locations, just over a dozen stores were in Mississippi, including rural areas like Lucedale and Picayune, where alternative retailers are scarce.
For longtime customer Vanessa Underwood, the closures mark a bittersweet farewell.
“There are no stores like Dirt Cheap around,” said Underwood, who has shopped at the Hattiesburg store since it opened in 1990. “I drive 25 miles to come here and get a bargain.”