See inside: Dollar General goes after millennials with DGX

Dollar General has a new demographic in mind with its smaller-format store concept DGX: millennials.

The store at 2034 West End Ave. is the flagship location for the Goodlettsville-based discount retailer’s quick-trip urban store. A week-long grand opening celebration kicked off Friday, Jan. 20.

There are similarities between a traditional Dollar General store and DGX, but the smaller-format store features a more modern design, a curated selection of goods and a brewed coffee station for metropolitan shoppers.

The store has a 3,400-square-foot sales floor in a portion of the former TGI Friday’s restaurant space. A franchised location of Los Angeles-based PizzaRev — a build your own pizza concept — plans to open in the remainder of the 8,000-square-foot space.

The building is situated right across the street from Vanderbilt’s campus and near several hotels on the heavily trafficked West End corridor.

“We are excited about our new smaller store concept and the opportunity to serve busy, city-dwellers with everyday low prices on the essentials they need in a convenient, easy-to-shop format,” Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s CEO, said in a statement. “The DGX format is geared to meet the needs of the millennial shopper, which is an emerging and important part of our customer base and will help us broaden our appeal to attract a new segment of urban customers who put a high premium on value and convenience.”

Dollar General is one of many longtime brands trying to tap into the tremendous buying power of millennial consumers, who last year overtook baby boomers as the largest living generation, according to the Pew Research Center. For instance, Lebanon-based Cracker Barrel recently debuted its Holler & Dash biscuit house in an attempt to capture younger customers.

The DGX store has a soda fountain, coffee station, grab-and-go sandwiches, limited assortment of grocery items, pet supplies, candies and snacks, paper products, home cleaning supplies and a health and beauty section. Unique to the store is a small assortment of home decor, electronics and seasonal offerings not typically found in quick-trip stores.

Dollar General plans to open a second DGX in Raleigh, N.C. The company operated 13,205 stores in 43 states as of Oct. 28.

Reach Lizzy Alfs at lalfs@tennessean.com or 615-726-5948 and on Twitter @lizzyalfs.