Dillman Foods

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   Posted: 12:00 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 22, 2013
Dillman Foods to close by Jan. 4

By Rick McCrabb
Staff Writer 
MIDDLETOWN — 
Steve Dillman said he kept the family grocery store open as long as possible.
But since 2000, sales have dropped by half, while expenses have doubled, a recipe for closing, he said. So the Dillman family, which has been in the grocery business for 87 years in Middletown, is closing its final store on Central Avenue. Dillman, 61, said the store will close between Tuesday to Jan. 4, 2014, depending on how fast the products sell during the inventory reduction sale.
“I never thought this would happen,” said Dillman, a third-generation grocer. “I’m frustrated, no make that sad. I always think what could I have done differently.”
The closing of Dillman Food is the latest loss of a family owned grocery store in Middletown, joining the casualties of McGee’s, Davey’s Carry-Out and Kelly’s Market.
Dillman called his 51 years on Central Avenue “a wonderful run, a real pleasure.” He thanked those in the community who supported his business.
He’s negotiating to sell the building, though he refused to name the potential owner. He said it will be a retail business, but not a grocery store.
He thought about closing the store in 2012, but wanted to see if sales improved. Instead, there was “a huge decline.”
Then he added: “It went the wrong way.”
For the last year or so, he has dumped “buckets of cash” into the business, he said. He doesn’t want to lose all the money he has made over the years. He compared it to a gambler knowing when to cash in his chips and walk away from the table when he’s ahead.
In the last five months, Dillman said, the “bottom fell out” of his business. He said other business owners in Middletown have seen the same downward trend.
“It’s bigger than me,” he said.
He pointed to several reasons for closing the store from dwindling sales to competition from the dollar stores and drug stores, to increased crime and growing Section 8 housing in the city. Middletown, he said, isn’t the same city it was decades ago.
Dillman said the stiffest competition doesn’t come from Kroger, Meijer and Walmart. The store has survived against the major retailers, but he said the smaller stores, those that sell what he called “easier items” at or below cost, have impacted his bottom line.
Also, he said, during an 18-month period, between 2010 to 2011, there were three armed robberies in the stores: two at Dillman’s on Central Avenue and one at Save-A-Lot on Roosevelt Boulevard. In the previous 20 years, he said, there were no robberies in the stores.
He called the robberies, when his employees had guns pointed at their heads, “eye opening” and that’s when “everything changed.”
To combat the crime, Dillman purchased surveillance cameras that he monitors from his tiny office, and he hired an armed security guard who works at night. He said the guard has stopped two potential robberies, and on numerous occasions, people walked into the store, spotted the guard, and left the store without making a purchase.
Dillman said since the robberies, business at night has dropped off significantly.
At the height of the family’s business, the Dillmans owned three grocery stores in Middletown and one in West Carrollton. They converted two of the Middletown locations — the ones on Roosevelt Boulevard and University Boulevard — into Save-A-Lots, then sold them in 2011.
Dillman said it bothers him that he was unable to turn the store around. Now, he said, his employees — he called them “co-workers” — many of them with the company for decades, will have to find work elsewhere or retire.
One of those is Connie Lacy, the deli manager who has worked at Dillman for 22 years, nearly half of her life. As she discussed her career, she choked back tears.
“Sorry,” she said. “I get emotional.”
She said Steve Dillman made the business “feel like a family. It was work, but it was more than just a job. I will miss it.”
Dillman, an only child, said closing the store will afford him more time to care for his parents, Roger, 88, and Virginia, 85. He took another glance at the surveillance cameras and added: “It’s time for a new life.”

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Vivian Moon Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MUSA Council Joined: May 16 2008 Location: Middletown, Ohi Status: Offline Points: 4187	Post Options Post Reply Quote Vivian Moon Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Dillman Foods Posted: Dec 22 2013 at 1:28am
	Posted: 12:00 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 22, 2013 Dillman Foods to close by Jan. 4 By Rick McCrabb Staff Writer MIDDLETOWN — Steve Dillman said he kept the family grocery store open as long as possible. But since 2000, sales have dropped by half, while expenses have doubled, a recipe for closing, he said. So the Dillman family, which has been in the grocery business for 87 years in Middletown, is closing its final store on Central Avenue. Dillman, 61, said the store will close between Tuesday to Jan. 4, 2014, depending on how fast the products sell during the inventory reduction sale. “I never thought this would happen,” said Dillman, a third-generation grocer. “I’m frustrated, no make that sad. I always think what could I have done differently.” The closing of Dillman Food is the latest loss of a family owned grocery store in Middletown, joining the casualties of McGee’s, Davey’s Carry-Out and Kelly’s Market. Dillman called his 51 years on Central Avenue “a wonderful run, a real pleasure.” He thanked those in the community who supported his business. He’s negotiating to sell the building, though he refused to name the potential owner. He said it will be a retail business, but not a grocery store. He thought about closing the store in 2012, but wanted to see if sales improved. Instead, there was “a huge decline.” Then he added: “It went the wrong way.” For the last year or so, he has dumped “buckets of cash” into the business, he said. He doesn’t want to lose all the money he has made over the years. He compared it to a gambler knowing when to cash in his chips and walk away from the table when he’s ahead. In the last five months, Dillman said, the “bottom fell out” of his business. He said other business owners in Middletown have seen the same downward trend. “It’s bigger than me,” he said. He pointed to several reasons for closing the store from dwindling sales to competition from the dollar stores and drug stores, to increased crime and growing Section 8 housing in the city. Middletown, he said, isn’t the same city it was decades ago. Dillman said the stiffest competition doesn’t come from Kroger, Meijer and Walmart. The store has survived against the major retailers, but he said the smaller stores, those that sell what he called “easier items” at or below cost, have impacted his bottom line. Also, he said, during an 18-month period, between 2010 to 2011, there were three armed robberies in the stores: two at Dillman’s on Central Avenue and one at Save-A-Lot on Roosevelt Boulevard. In the previous 20 years, he said, there were no robberies in the stores. He called the robberies, when his employees had guns pointed at their heads, “eye opening” and that’s when “everything changed.” To combat the crime, Dillman purchased surveillance cameras that he monitors from his tiny office, and he hired an armed security guard who works at night. He said the guard has stopped two potential robberies, and on numerous occasions, people walked into the store, spotted the guard, and left the store without making a purchase. Dillman said since the robberies, business at night has dropped off significantly. At the height of the family’s business, the Dillmans owned three grocery stores in Middletown and one in West Carrollton. They converted two of the Middletown locations — the ones on Roosevelt Boulevard and University Boulevard — into Save-A-Lots, then sold them in 2011. Dillman said it bothers him that he was unable to turn the store around. Now, he said, his employees — he called them “co-workers” — many of them with the company for decades, will have to find work elsewhere or retire. One of those is Connie Lacy, the deli manager who has worked at Dillman for 22 years, nearly half of her life. As she discussed her career, she choked back tears. “Sorry,” she said. “I get emotional.” She said Steve Dillman made the business “feel like a family. It was work, but it was more than just a job. I will miss it.” Dillman, an only child, said closing the store will afford him more time to care for his parents, Roger, 88, and Virginia, 85. He took another glance at the surveillance cameras and added: “It’s time for a new life.”

over the hill Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MUSA Citizen Joined: Oct 19 2012 Location: middletown Status: Offline Points: 952	Post Options Post Reply Quote over the hill Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Dec 22 2013 at 8:47am
	Steve Dillman, many on this forum wish you the very best in that"new life".

bumper Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MUSA Citizen Joined: Feb 01 2010 Location: over here Status: Offline Points: 307	Post Options Post Reply Quote bumper Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Dec 22 2013 at 8:48am
	5 Shocking Facts About Buying Groceries in the U.S. By AnnaLisa Kraft \| More Articles \| Save For Later December 21, 2013 \| Comments (4) Is there anywhere that you can't buy milk, toilet paper and Twizzlers these days? From convenience stores to warehouse clubs, dollar stores to gas stations -- and even via Amazon.com -- it seems that everyone's trying to get a slice of consumers' food dollars. There's been a sea change in the supermarket business over the past decade -- for instance, did you know that the world's largest grocer is not a grocer at all? -- and certainly more changes to come. Read on for some surprising facts about the buying -- and selling -- food. 1. Groceries in the U.S. are cheaper than anywhere else on the planet. Food has never been cheaper for us. In fact, the cost of food (as a share of income) is at a historical low. Plus, it's cheaper in the U.S. than in any other country. We spend 5.5% of our disposable income on food at home. Compare that to the 11.4%, 13.6% and 14.4% spent by the Germans, French, and Italians, respectively. If you were to move to Mexico, Turkey, or Kenya, putting food on the table would cost you 24.1%, 24.5% and 45.9% of your disposable income. 2. Wal-Mart is the nation's largest grocer. Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT ) , world's largest retailer, added "the nation's largest grocer" to its list of titles in 2000. Its first supercenter went up in 1988, and in its rise to become the go-to grocer it has reportedly put 25-plus supermarket chains out of business. Source:Wal-Mart 2013 Annual Report Credit Wal-Mart's "everyday low pricing" -- a cornerstone of the company's strategy -- with its rapid rise to the top. The company claims the average family can save $700 annually on groceries shopping at Wal-Mart. That would work out to be a 27% savings on groceries for the average American. Even if you don't shop at Wal-Mart, you're still benefiting from the behemoth no matter where you buy groceries. A Global Insight survey in 2008 found that shoppers save $2,500 a year at other grocers because Wal-Mart's competitive pricing forces them to lower their prices. No. 3: Brand-name foods are commanding less shelf space in our pantries. Private label products -- items manufactured by big national food companies and major brands like Conagra and then sold under a retailer's or a generic label --comprise 17.4% of food sales for U.S. retailers, accounting for a whopping $90 billion in business in 2012, according to Nielsen Company. Nielsen reports that sales of private label products have grown 19% over the last year. . Offering less-expensive private label brands is one way that supermarket chains are trying to compete with the low prices offered by competitors. Recently Safeway (NYSE: SWY ) has been pushing private label brands in its stores. CEO Robert Edwards told analysts in July that private label dollar sales were up 37 basis points and private label volume was up 53 basis points. He added the company is rapidly growing private health and wellness private label brands, in particular, with 2,000 stock keeping units (SKUs). No. 4. The nation's second largest seller of natural food is... Guess who's giving Whole Foods Market the most competition as a purveyor of natural food? Kroger (NYSE: KR ) . Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen told analysts just weeks ago that comparing on sales numbers alone Kroger would be the nation's second largest natural retailer "by a pretty wide margin." He added: If you look at the market share opportunities for us, we can easily see how that business could double from where we are today. But we don't see it as something that's a dream to double our business. We actually have a pretty good plan in place that will get us significantly along the way on getting there in a reasonable period of time. McMullen also said natural and organic is their fastest-growing section by percentage and plans to offer even more store brands in that category. No. 5: There's a science to making you stray from your shopping list. There's a reason why when you walk into nearly any grocery store you'll find flowers and produce are prominently located at the entrance. That's done to signal freshness.Then you're hit by the aromas from the bakery, in-store deli, and coffeeshop. Feeling hungrier? Of course you are. That's the plan to make you buy more. Even bare-bones warehouse stores like Costco offer in-store sampling and hot dog stands to get you to linger and buy more, more, more. Then there's the calculated layout of a supermarket. Much-needed items like bread and milk are at the back to lead people to wander through the store and pick up a few extra goodies. Shelf display is equally designed for optimal profit with higher-margin and best-selling items at eye level. Lower-priced goods are displayed at knee level or lower. In candy and snack aisles higher-margin treats lure the unwary at a kid's eye level. Finally, impulse items are always placed by the cash register. According to Paco Underhill, author of Why We Buy:The Science of Shopping, this is the highest profit shopping area of a store. Check out anyone? Yes, modern grocers are masters of myriad marketing tools. But be cheered, the average market basket as a per cent of income is much lower than in decades past. Knowing these facts will help you cut that percentage down further. Those investing in these merchant mavens should be heartened that they're doing their darnedest for every last thin dime of margin.it has reportedly put 25-plus supermarket chains out of business.

Vivian Moon Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MUSA Council Joined: May 16 2008 Location: Middletown, Ohi Status: Offline Points: 4187	Post Options Post Reply Quote Vivian Moon Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Dec 22 2013 at 11:28am
	Hunger & Poverty Food Deserts Food deserts are concentrated areas short on access to healthy food – fresh produce and meat – even while convenience stores and fast-food outlets flourish. These communities often paradoxically experience both obesity and poverty. Barriers to accessing healthy food in these areas are both economic (low incomes) and physical (lack of transportation or absence of fresh food retailers).

VietVet Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MUSA Council Joined: May 15 2008 Status: Offline Points: 7008	Post Options Post Reply Quote VietVet Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Dec 23 2013 at 3:31am
	Thank you Steve for a fine run in this city. Dillmans, McGees, Sunset Pool, Roosevelt Jr. High, the Inferno in the basement of the YMCA and many other businesses and destinations all gone from Middletown's landscape. Memories and old pictures of a better time are all that is left nowadays. Much happiness in your retirement. You have earned it. It was a long road wasn't it. Stay in touch. We all value your input and knowledge of the city.
	I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over.

USPRO6 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List MUSA Immigrant Joined: Jan 25 2012 Location: Middletown Status: Offline Points: 29	Post Options Post Reply Quote USPRO6 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Jan 08 2014 at 12:25am
	On behalf of U.S. Protection Service, It was a pleasure being a part of your team and our officers enjoyed working at that location. It was like working with family. I personally will miss the crew and you Steve. Best of wishes and good luck with wherever life takes you. Thank you for your business...it was our pleasure. Shonn
	Shonn Silvers District Manager/Captain U.S. Protection Service

Dillman Foods

Dillman Foods to close by Jan. 4

Hunger & Poverty

Food Deserts