Family Dollar was the brainchild of Leon Levine. In November 1959, the first "low overhead, self-service retail store" was dedicated, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Expansion of the Family Dollar chain added stores in South Carolina (1961), Georgia (1962) and Virginia (1965).

The company, based in Matthews (a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina), went public in 1970. Growth continued into the mid-1980s and, after a slight slump in the late 1980s, continued into the 21st century.

Family Dollar fended off hostile takeover offer attempts from its primary rival, Dollar General Stores, during 2014. Eventually, a merger was worked out with Virginia-based Dollar Tree. The deal closed in July 2015, with Family Dollar becoming a Dollar Tree subsidiary. The Family Dollar "HQ" was moved to Chesapeake, Virginia. As of November 2023, there were 8,402 Family Dollar stores in operation in forty-eight states. 

FAMILY DOLLAR JUNIOR-ANCHORED SHOPPING CENTERS:

*STEWART-LAKEWOOD CENTER, Atlanta, GA (mall opened in 1959)
*GRAND CITIES MALL, Grand Forks, ND (mall opened in 1964)
*TEJAS CENTER, Bryan, TX (original mall opened 1970)

An early Family Dollar store is seen above, where everything was sold for under 3 dollars.
Photo from https://www.familydollar.com

A 21st century view of a Charlotte, North Carolina unit and its crew. In 2023, only the states of Alaska and Hawaii had no Family Dollar stores.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Jml0519"