Dillons is a regional grocery

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...

chain based in

Hutchinson, Kansas Hutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, Reno County, Kansas, United States. The city is located on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887 (thus its nickname of "Salt City") but locals ...

, and is a division of

Kroger The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cinc ...

. Other banners under the Dillon Stores Division include Gerbes in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

and

Baker's A baker is someone who primarily bakes bread. Baker or Bakers may also refer to: Business * Bakers Coaches, trading name BakerBus, a bus and coach operator in Staffordshire, England * Baker Hughes, an oilfield services company * Baker McKenzie, ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. Dillons operates grocery stores throughout Kansas with major influences in and around Wichita,

Topeka Topeka ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeaste ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, and

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

. Dillons also operates distribution centers in Goddard and Hutchinson.

History

In 1890,

John S. Dillon John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

opened a general store in

Sterling, Kansas Sterling is a city in Rice County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,248. Sterling is home to Sterling College. History For millennia, the land now known as Kansas was inhabited by Native Ame ...

, and learned that allowing customers to charge then pay later and delivering groceries to their homes was a financial and manpower strain on his business. In 1913, he opened his "J.S. Dillon Cash Store" in Hutchinson, Kansas employed a new marketing concept called cash and carry, where the store would not offer credit or delivery services. Dillon opened a second store in 1915 that he managed then placed his son,

Ray E. Dillon Ray or RAY may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), the bony or horny spine on ray-finned fish Science and mathematics * Half-line (geometry) or ray, half of a line split at an ...

, in charge of the original store. In 1917, the company was incorporated under the name "Dillon Mercantile Company, Inc". Due to his sons John and Ray both being overseas in France during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Dillon sold his company to his investment partners, but soon afterward both sons returned. They opened a new store called "J.S. Dillon and Sons Store" in 1919 and incorporated in 1921. In 1983, Dillon Companies, Inc., was acquired by The Kroger Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, creating a nationwide grocery chain. Several years later, David Dillon was named Kroger's president and COO and became CEO in 2003. Dillon retired from that position effective January 1, 2014. In 2006, Kroger opened the first Dillons Marketplace in Wichita. The concept, similar to Kroger's

Fred Meyer Fred Meyer, Inc. is an American chain of hypermarket superstores and subsidiary of Kroger based in Portland, Oregon. The stores operate in the northwestern United States, with locations in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. The company was ...

chain, is of grocery and general merchandise. On February 12, 2015, the Dillons pharmacy location in Joplin was shuttered, four years after the Dillons store in Joplin (the only Dillons-branded store outside of Kansas) was destroyed by the

2011 Joplin tornado The Joplin tornado, also referred to as simply the Joplin EF5, was a large, deadly and devastating Enhanced Fujita scale, EF5 tornado that struck the city of Joplin, Missouri, United States during the evening hours of Sunday, May 22, 2011, causi ...

Gerbes

In 1933, Frank J. Gerbes founded Gerbes Super Markets, Inc. in

Tipton, Missouri Tipton is a city in Moniteau County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,920 as of the 2020 census, down from 3,262 in 2010. It is part of the Jefferson City metropolitan area. History Tipton was a predominantly German-American com ...

. The location in Tipton closed in 2007. In 1966, Gerbes merged with the Dillon Companies and has been a division ever since. As of 2024, Kroger currently operates four stores under the Gerbes banner in

Mid-Missouri Mid-Missouri is a loosely-defined region comprising the central area of the U.S. state of Missouri. The region's largest city is Columbia, Missouri, Columbia (population 121,717); the Missouri state capital, Jefferson City, Missouri, Jefferson C ...

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Supermarkets, Companies 1913 establishments in Kansas 1983 mergers and acquisitions Companies based in Kansas Hutchinson, Kansas Kroger Reno County, Kansas Retail companies established in 1913 Supermarkets of the United States

History

Gerbes

See also

References

External links