D&C "Five Cents to a Dollar" Stores Were Exclusive to Michigan

You know Woolworth's five-and-dime...you may recall Kresge's old five-and-dimes...but when was the last time you even thought about the old D&C 5&10 shops? Even though D&Cs were referred to as “five-and-dimes”, most of the time they advertised as “five cents to a dollar” stores.

This popular Michigan shop did not originate in New York, Chicago, or some other hotshot big city. Nope, it began in the Mid-Michigan small town if Stockbridge in Ingham County.

The company was created by Herb and Paul Dancer and Glen Cowan, using the first initial of their last names for their brand. D&C shops opened for business in 1926, eventually reaching 34 units in lower Michigan with a peak total of 54 across the state. With the ever-rising cost of living, D&C stores eventually began advertising themselves as 'five-to-a-dollar' shops.

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Like with all "5&10" shops, it was the candy that kids most remember (okay, and the toys, too). As soon as mom would enter the store with Junior, there was the candy department to greet you...with Junior pulling mom over in that direction. Grand openings featured swag for everyone: candy was on sale for the kids, and mom and dad got little souvenirs.

Like all good things, D&Cs came to an end when the final D&C closed in the summer of 1993. Others like Woolworths, Kresge, and Ben Franklin also eventually shut down, thanks to the influx of the larger shopping behemoths like Meijer, WalMart, and other giant discount retailers. Nowadays, when you ask someone to name a five-and-ten, you'll usually hear the answer “Woolworths”...but if you say “what about D&C?” more times than not, you'll get a smile of recognition and an excited “Oh, yeah! That's right!”

The D&Cs have definitely not faded from the memories of Michigan.