The Discount Depot Opens in old Dollar Express Location

The Discount Depot officially opened for business at the beginning of March in the old Matawan Drugs location, filling the gap left behind .

In just under a month, owner Edward Gilliland, with the help of his son Brian and daughter Samantha, have filed the proper permits, cleaned the store and stocked the shelves. Now the East Brunswick family is just waiting for locals to take advantage of their low prices.

Gilliland, who has worked in retail his entire career, always wanted to open a business and be his own boss, he said. When he saw the property at 147 Main Street in Matawan available for lease online, he decided to go all in. Gilliland knew the area from taking his children to Holmdel Park when they were younger, and had even stopped in to shop when it was Dollar Express.

There are still dollar store items and brands available, Gilliland said, but he believes the main attraction of the store should be the name brand items available at discount prices.

"There's no reason to leave town to go to a Walmart, but there's a reason to come here and that's to save money," Gilliland said.

The Discount Depot carries a variety of products, including clothes, shoes, cleaning supplies, laundry detergents, air fresheners, holiday items, balloons, holiday and birthday cards, light bulbs, garbage bags, hair dye, cosmetics and toys.

The items are purchased wholesale, which is why they can be offered for lower prices than they would be normally marked for. And although they work to cut prices, Gilliland said they never cut back on friendly customer service.

Gilliland credits his first hardware retail job at the family-owned Better Living in Jamesburg with instilling the value of the customer in him.

"I got to really know what a customer is, what customer service meant. You're actually waiting on a customer and building a rapport with them. After a while you know people," Gilliland said. "People aren't just a number like they are in the box stores."