Dave's Supermarkets

What Dave's Supermarkets does

Dave's Supermarkets (Dave's Supermarket, Inc.) is a privately held, family-owned grocery chain operating 12 supermarket locations across Northern Ohio, founded in the late 1920s by Alex Saltzman and currently in its fifth generation of family ownership under Dan and Steve Saltzman. The chain serves neighborhood consumers in Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Akron, Euclid, Garfield Heights, and Richmond Heights, with each store locally merchandised to the demographic profile of its surrounding community: the Dave's Mercado at Ridge & Denison carries the largest selection of Hispanic groceries in Northern Ohio, the Severance Town Center location offers kosher selections, the Cleveland Heights store is positioned as a 'Market & eatery' with expanded natural and organic assortment, and other locations serve general neighborhood shoppers. The company also operates co-located services inside stores, including a Neighborhood Family Practice community pharmacy at the Mercado, US Bank and 5/3 Bank branches at multiple locations, check cashing, party planning and catering, and gift cards including bulk corporate orders.

The product offering is built around in-store fresh departments, with meat cut in-house daily by staff butchers from USDA Choice (or higher) beef, Grade A chicken, and all-natural pork, an in-house bakery baking fresh daily, produce sourced from small family-run Ohio farms such as Bauman Orchards, and seafood arriving daily. The technology stack supporting the business consists of owned-and-operated online ordering and home delivery sites (davesdelivers.com for the main banner and davesmercadodelivers.com for the Mercado), integration with the DoorDash third-party delivery marketplace, store-specific PDF weekly ads distributed through the ideal.sale platform, and an email subscription service for weekly circulars. No AI, machine learning, proprietary data assets, or advanced technology capabilities are disclosed; the technology footprint is largely commodity third-party e-commerce and delivery infrastructure.

The business model is direct-to-consumer retail grocery, generating revenue primarily through in-person grocery sales across 12 storefronts, supplemented by prescription pharmacy service fees (where present), check-cashing transaction fees, gift card sales (including bulk corporate gift card orders of 25 or more), party tray and catering transactions, liquor sales at multiple locations, and delivery fees from online orders. Pricing is predominantly per-item retail with manufacturer and internet coupon acceptance up to $3 per coupon and periodic double-coupon promotions, plus per-tray or per-person pricing for catering. Go-to-market is hybrid: physical storefronts anchored in 12 Northern Ohio neighborhoods plus an emerging e-commerce and delivery channel via owned sites and DoorDash. The company has no disclosed institutional investors, no funding rounds, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no public listing; growth has been funded through family ownership and operational cash flows.

Name

Dave's Supermarkets

Legal name

Dave's Supermarket, Inc.

Website

https://davesmarkets.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1929

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Dave's Supermarkets is a privately held, family-owned grocery chain operating 12 neighborhood supermarkets across Northern Ohio under its fifth generation of Saltzman family ownership. Each store is locally merchandised to its community, supported by in-store pharmacy, banking, and online delivery via DoorDash integration.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Supermarket / Grocery Retail

NAICS

Supermarkets and Other Grocery Retailers (except Convenience Retailers) (44511)

SIC

Retail-Grocery Stores (5411)

akta.pro primary industry

Supermarket Operators with In-Store Foodservice/Prepared Foods Focus (CRAHAAAJ)

Keywords

• Grocery retail
• Supermarket chain
• Fresh meat butchery
• Hispanic grocery
• Online grocery delivery

Headquarters

HQ city

Cleveland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Retail grocery sales: Primary revenue stream from selling groceries across meat, deli, produce, bakery, seafood, dairy, frozen, Hispanic, kosher, natural and organic product categories at 12 store locations in Northern Ohio. One-time per-transaction purchases by individual consumers.
2. Pharmacy services: In-store prescription pharmacy services operated at multiple locations including Severance Town Center, Midtown, and the Mercado Ridge & Denison (via partner Neighborhood Family Practice), with prescription refills, insurance plans, prescription transfers, and generic drugs.
3. Check cashing services: Check cashing offered as a service to customers, generating per-transaction fees.
4. Party planning and catering: Made-to-order party trays, fruit baskets, cakes, sandwiches, shrimp trays, cookie trays, vegetable trays, wrap trays, and fried chicken ordered via downloadable order form for events. One-time purchases with per-person or per-tray pricing.
5. Gift card sales: Physical gift cards sold at all store locations, plus bulk corporate gift card orders of 25 or more through the corporate office.
6. Liquor sales: Liquor departments operate at multiple store locations with separate liquor hours (e.g., Monday-Saturday 10am-9pm, Sunday 11am-7pm at Cleveland Heights), generating beverage alcohol sales.
7. Online ordering and home delivery: Grocery delivery fees generated through davesdelivers.com, davesmercadodelivers.com, and DoorDash marketplace integration, with delivery promised in as little as 1 hour.
8. In-store bank branch commissions/foot traffic: Co-located US Bank and 5/3 Bank branches within stores (e.g., Cleveland Heights Lee Rd, Mercado Ridge & Denison, Harvard & Lee, Middlebury) drive incremental foot traffic to grocery operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Dave's Supermarkets operates 12 grocery store locations across Northern Ohio, selling fresh meat, deli, produce, bakery, seafood, dairy, frozen, Hispanic, kosher, natural and organic grocery products. Each store is locally merchandised to the demographics of its surrounding community, complemented by in-store pharmacy services, party planning and catering, gift cards, check cashing, and online ordering with home delivery via davesdelivers.com, davesmercadodelivers.com, and the DoorDash marketplace.

Product overview

Dave's Supermarkets is a single retail brand operating 12 brick-and-mortar grocery store locations across Northern Ohio (Cleveland and Akron), founded in the late 1920s by the Saltzman family (now in its fifth generation). The portfolio spans the core Dave's Markets / Dave's Supermarkets brand, the Hispanic-focused Dave's Mercado sub-brand launched in 2007 at Ridge & Denison, the Dave's Market & eatery store concept (locations in Cleveland Heights, Midtown, Ohio City, and Shore Center), and the Dave's Delivers / Dave's Mercado Delivers online ordering and home delivery services operated through the DoorDash platform. Supporting offerings include the in-store departments (Meat & Poultry, Deli, Produce, Bakery, Seafood, and Pharmacy), Party Planning/Dave's Express Service catering, Weekly Ads (delivered via the ideal.sale platform), Gift Cards, Check Cashing, a Coupon Redemption Program, and an email Weekly Ad Subscription service. Together these products form an integrated grocery retail experience combining neighborhood-focused physical stores with online ordering and delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dave's Mercado: Hispanic-focused market concept launched in 2007 at the Ridge & Denison location in Cleveland, Ohio. Offers the largest selection of Hispanic groceries in Northern Ohio including Goya, Vitarroz, and Badia brands, Hispanic produce (plantains, guines verdes, cilantro), Hispanic deli selections, bacala, and pastries; bilingual associates complete the offering.
• Dave's Market & eatery

Products and services

• Dave's Delivers
• Dave's Mercado Delivers
• Party Planning / Dave's Express Service
• Dave's Market Gift Cards
• Pharmacy Services
• Check Cashing Service
• Weekly Ad Email Subscription
• Coupon Redemption Program

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 1,500 full and part-time employees across 12 locations
• +2 more outcomes

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship local community partnership anchoring the pharmacy offering at the mercado location., core online distribution partner extending dave's reach via third-party delivery marketplace., recurring in-store tenant bank partner at multiple locations including cleveland heights lee rd, mercado ridge & denison, and middlebury., secondary in-store tenant bank partner at the harvard & lee store., local sourcing partner supplying fresh produce to all dave's stores., core hispanic pantry brand stocked at dave's mercado ridge & denison., hispanic pantry brand stocked at dave's mercado ridge & denison. and fried-chicken supply partner used in party planning catering..

• Neighborhood Family Practice (NFP)flagship local community partnership anchoring the pharmacy offering at the mercado location.Strategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2007Dave's Supermarket, Inc. partnered with Neighborhood Family Practice (NFP) to offer pharmacy services at the Mercado Ridge & Denison location. The NFP pharmacy is open to the public, not just Mercado shoppers, and accepts most insurance plans including Medicaid, Medicare Part D, and most commercial insurances. Pharmacy hours are Monday-Friday 8:30am-5:00pm; closed Saturday and Sunday. The partnership was established with the 2007 launch of Dave's Mercado to serve Cleveland's growing Hispanic community.
• DoorDashcore online distribution partner extending dave's reach via third-party delivery marketplace.Channel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDoorDash is integrated as the third-party delivery and online ordering marketplace for Dave's Markets, surfaced via a business profile link (doordash.com/business/dave's-markets-13680669) on the Dave's homepage. The integration enables customers to place grocery delivery orders via DoorDash's consumer platform in addition to Dave's owned-and-operated davesdelivers.com and davesmercadodelivers.com sites.
• US Bankrecurring in-store tenant bank partner at multiple locations including cleveland heights lee rd, mercado ridge & denison, and middlebury.OthersUS Bank operates co-located bank branches inside several Dave's Markets locations. At the Cleveland Heights Lee Rd store, US Bank hours are Mon 9am-5pm, Tue 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-5pm, Thu 9am-5pm, Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 9am-4pm, Sun 9am-5pm (Columbus Day hours may differ), with bank phone (800) 872-2657. Branches are also referenced at Mercado Ridge & Denison and Middlebury, providing one-stop grocery-plus-banking convenience to shoppers.
• Fifth Third Bank (5/3 Bank)secondary in-store tenant bank partner at the harvard & lee store.OthersFifth Third Bank (5/3 Bank) operates a co-located bank branch inside the Dave's Harvard & Lee store (16820 Harvard Avenue, Cleveland, 44128), supplementing the US Bank branches at other Dave's locations.
• Bauman Orchards (Rittman, Ohio)local sourcing partner supplying fresh produce to all dave's stores.OthersDave's works closely with small family-run farms such as Bauman Orchards in Rittman, Ohio to source some of the freshest vegetables and sweetest fruits in Ohio for the produce department. Bauman Orchards is explicitly named as a produce partner.
• Goyacore hispanic pantry brand stocked at dave's mercado ridge & denison.OthersGoya Hispanic pantry products are prominently stocked at the Dave's Mercado Ridge & Denison location, which boasts the largest selection of Hispanic groceries in Northern Ohio.
• Vitarrozhispanic pantry brand stocked at dave's mercado ridge & denison.OthersVitarroz Hispanic pantry products are stocked at the Dave's Mercado Ridge & Denison location, contributing to the largest selection of Hispanic groceries in Northern Ohio.
• Badiahispanic pantry brand stocked at dave's mercado ridge & denison.OthersBadia Hispanic pantry products are stocked at the Dave's Mercado Ridge & Denison location, contributing to the largest selection of Hispanic groceries in Northern Ohio.
• Perduefried-chicken supply partner used in party planning catering.OthersPerdue supplies the fresh, tender chicken used in Dave's fried chicken party platters, which are dipped in Dave's own blend of herbs and spices and prepared with 0 trans fat free oil. Sold by the piece in 24, 50, 75, and 100-piece options.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Aldi: German discount grocer rapidly expanding across Ohio with a hard-discount price model. Directly pressures Dave's value-oriented shoppers through aggressive pricing and limited-assortment efficiency, while its growing fresh and organic ranges encroach on Dave's Market & eatery positioning.
• Meijer: Midwest supercenter operator with stores across Ohio offering grocery plus general merchandise. Competes with Dave's on one-stop convenience and fresh assortment, particularly in the Akron market where Dave's Middlebury store operates.
• Whole Foods Market: Amazon-owned natural/organic grocer with locations in the Cleveland suburbs. Competes for premium fresh and organic baskets overlapping with the Dave's Market & eatery Cleveland Heights positioning, with far greater scale and delivery reach via Prime.
• Kroger: Ohio-headquartered national grocery leader with dominant market share across the state. Operates a broad portfolio of formats (Kroger, Marketplace, Pick 'n Save) with private-label depth, loyalty (Boost membership), and digital infrastructure (Boost delivery, ship-to-home) far exceeding Dave's scale.
• Trader Joe's: Specialty grocery chain with stores in the Cleveland area competing for the same natural/organic/specialty shopper that Dave's targets through its Cleveland Heights Market & eatery location, with a private-label-led assortment model.
• Walmart: National mass merchandiser with the largest grocery share in the U.S. and a growing pickup/delivery network. Underlies price expectations across all of Dave's markets, limiting the company's ability to meaningfully raise retail prices.
• Costco: Membership warehouse club with Cleveland-area locations drawing high-volume fresh and pantry purchases away from conventional supermarkets like Dave's, particularly for bulk shoppers and small businesses seeking value pricing.

Direct peers

• Heinen's: Family-owned Cleveland-based grocer with multiple locations across Greater Cleveland and surrounding suburbs. Competes directly with Dave's for the same Northern Ohio shopper, with an upscale fresh-and-prepared positioning versus Dave's value-driven Mercado and Market & eatery formats.
• Sedano's Supermarkets: Hispanic-focused regional supermarket chain with deep Hispanic assortment, in-store bakery/café, and bilingual service — closely mirroring Dave's Mercado concept and useful as a benchmark for ethnic-format expansion and operating model.
• Giant Eagle: Pittsburgh-based regional supermarket chain with overlapping presence in Northern Ohio, including Cleveland-area stores. Operates a comparable mix of fresh departments, in-store pharmacies (Giant Eagle Pharmacy), fuel rewards, and neighborhood merchandising — making it the closest direct competitor to Dave's.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/davesmarkets
• Facebookfacebook.com/daves.markets
• Pinterestpinterest/davesmarkets

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dave's Supermarkets