dave's marketplace

What dave's marketplace does

Dave's Fresh Marketplace (also doing business as Dave's Marketplace) is a privately held, family-owned independent grocery chain founded in 1969 in Warwick, Rhode Island, and headquartered in East Greenwich, RI. The company operates 10 full-service supermarket locations spread across Rhode Island (Coventry, Cranston, Cumberland, East Greenwich, Little Smithfield, N. Kingstown/Quonset, Smithfield Crossing, Warwick-Hoxsie, Warwick-WSR, and Wickford), serving Rhode Island consumers seeking fresh, locally oriented grocery shopping. Each store features a full complement of in-house departments including scratch bakery, butcher shop, seafood market, full-service deli, prepared foods kitchen, floral, and specialty cheese. The company states that about 50% of bakery items are baked in-store and over 75% of prepared foods are produced from scratch in on-site open-air kitchens or through a central commissary, with seafood sourced directly twice weekly from the Boston Seafood Market and beef ground fresh in-store daily.

The business operates a traditional brick-and-mortar grocery model with no delivery or curbside service and no mobile app. Digital channels are limited to online ordering for catering, gift baskets/floral (with local delivery), and gift cards. Complementary sub-brands include Dave's Catering (Catering to Go, deli platters, and full-service catering with a new online ordering system launched in April 2025), Dave's Gift Baskets & Floral, Dave's Brick Oven Pizza, and the Le's Isle Rose gift shop. The company partners with more than 60 local Rhode Island producers and artisans, and is positioned in the market as the state's largest locally owned and operated independent grocer — a position reinforced by 2024 IGA Retailer of the Year and tied IGA International Retailer of the Year recognition, plus multiple Providence Journal "Best of" awards.

Revenue is generated almost entirely through in-store retail sales at the 10 Rhode Island locations, with smaller contributions from catering, gift basket, and gift card sales. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; weekly sales flyers and email subscriptions drive customer acquisition and retention. The company employs between 251 and 500 people per firmographic data (described qualitatively as "thousands" elsewhere), is family-owned with no institutional investors, and has maintained continuous leadership under founder Dave and partner Bill Hogan (joined 1972), with management staff averaging 30 years of service tenure. The operating geography is exclusively Rhode Island, with no disclosed expansion plans beyond the state.

Name

dave's marketplace

Legal name

Dave's Fresh Marketplace

Website

https://davesmarketplace.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Dave's Fresh Marketplace is a privately held, family-owned independent grocery chain operating 10 full-service supermarket locations across Rhode Island since 1969, serving local consumers with scratch bakeries, in-house prepared foods, fresh seafood, catering, and gift and floral services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Grocery Retail

NAICS

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

SIC

Retail-Grocery Stores (5411), Retail-Food Stores (5400)

akta.pro primary industry

Natural/Organic Supermarkets & Chains (CRAHAEAA)

Keywords

• Grocery retail
• Supermarket chain
• Prepared foods
• Catering services
• Gift baskets

Headquarters

HQ city

East Greenwich

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. In-store Grocery Retail: Traditional grocery retail sales at 10 physical store locations across Rhode Island, including fresh produce, meats, seafood, bakery, deli, prepared foods, and pantry staples. Additional revenue streams include catering services, gift basket sales, and gift card sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Dave's Marketplace is a family-owned grocery retail chain operating 10 stores in Rhode Island, founded in 1969 and headquartered in East Greenwich, RI. The company sells fresh foods, prepared meals, baked goods, brick oven pizza, and provides catering, floral, and gift basket services to local consumers.

Product overview

Dave's Fresh Marketplace is a grocery retail chain offering a unified in-store and online shopping experience. The core offering is the Fresh Marketplace, featuring 12 departments including bakery, butcher shop, deli, produce, and seafood. Supporting services include Dave's Catering (event catering and deli platters), Dave's Gift Baskets & Floral (gift and floral retail), Dave's Gift Cards (gift card sales in various denominations), and Brick Oven Pizza (fresh pizza service). The company operates 10 stores across Rhode Island and also offers online ordering for catering and gift cards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dave's Catering: Catering service offering Catering to Go and Deli Platters for parties and events
• Dave's Brick Oven Pizza
• Dave's Gift Baskets & Floral Shoppe
• Le's Isle Rose
• Little Smithfield

Products and services

• Dave's Fresh Marketplace Retail Stores
• Dave's Catering
• Dave's Gift Baskets
• Dave's Floral Arrangements
• Dave's Gift Cards

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Girls on the RunOthersDave's supports Girls on the Run, committed to reaching elementary school aged girls, strengthening confidence and connections between physical and emotional health.
• RI Blood CenterOthersIn 2023, Dave's blood drives collected 363 pints of blood, impacting 1,089 Rhode Island lives saved through the RI Blood Center partnership.
• RI Coalition Against Domestic ViolenceOthersDave's supports RICADV, which provides emergency shelters, support groups, counseling services and legal support to domestic violence victims through its member agencies and volunteer network.
• RI Community Food BankOthersDave's supports the RI Community Food Bank, which statewide network feeds more than 54,000 people including children and seniors each month.
• The Tomorrow FundOthersDave's supports The Tomorrow Fund by providing daily financial and emotional support to families of children with cancer to help better support children in treatment.
• American Cancer SocietyOthersDave's supports the American Cancer Society, which provides statewide patient and family care support with ongoing care.
• Hope and MainOthersHope and Main is Rhode Island's signature food incubation program providing commercial kitchen space and education to local entrepreneurs. Dave's carries products from Hope and Main vendors.
• Special Olympics Rhode IslandOthersDave's supports Special Olympics Rhode Island, changing lives of people with intellectual disabilities throughout the state.
• 60+ Local Product VendorscoreOthersDave's partners with over 60 local Rhode Island producers and artisans including American Mussel Harvesters, Anchor Toffee, A&J's Bakery, Gotham Greens, Narragansett Creamery, Little Leaf Farms, and many more to provide locally made products.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves19 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Trader Joe's: Specialty grocery chain with RI locations emphasizing curated assortment, prepared foods, and value. Compares to Dave's on prepared/differentiated offerings and customer experience focus, but operates as a national chain with strong private-label economics.
• Whole Foods Market: Amazon-owned natural/organic-focused supermarket with RI presence. Competes for the same fresh, local, and premium-prepared-foods customer that Dave's targets, and operates at vastly greater scale with sophisticated digital infrastructure.
• Wegmans: Premium East Coast supermarket chain famous for prepared foods, in-store dining, and customer service. Comparable to Dave's in its prepared foods/scratch cooking emphasis and customer-experience focus, operating at larger scale with an industry-leading reputation.
• Stop & Shop: Major Ahold Delhaize-owned supermarket chain with multiple Rhode Island locations. Directly competes with Dave's for full-basket grocery trips in the same RI trade areas, but operates at national scale with full delivery/curbside capabilities Dave's lacks.
• Shaw's: Albertsons-owned regional supermarket chain serving Rhode Island and greater New England. Comparable traditional supermarket model with similar department structure (bakery, deli, produce, meat), competing on price and convenience in overlapping RI geographies.

Emerging players

• Sprouts Farmers Market: Natural/organic-focused supermarket chain emphasizing fresh produce and local sourcing. Comparable to Dave's in its local-producer partnership model and natural/organic assortment, though Sprouts operates a much larger footprint across the western/southern US.

Direct peers

• Roche Bros: Family-owned Massachusetts-based supermarket chain with a similar local/independent positioning and emphasis on fresh, scratch-prepared foods. Closest peer in business model and philosophy, operating just outside Dave's RI footprint in adjacent New England markets.

Regional players

• Cumberland Farms: New England-based convenience store chain with strong RI presence. Comparable regional retailer, though smaller-format and focused on convenience/beverages rather than full-service grocery; competes for trip-frequency spend in the same geography.
• Price Rite: Wakefern/ShopRite-owned discount supermarket with RI locations. Competes with Dave's on lower-price grocery basket share in overlapping trade areas, but with a limited-assortment discount model rather than scratch-prepared specialty positioning.
• Market Basket: Family-owned New England supermarket chain renowned for low prices and employee-centric culture. Comparable independent regional grocer with strong brand loyalty, but with broader geographic reach across MA/NH and not currently serving RI directly.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DavesMarketRI
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/DavesMarketRI
• Facebookfacebook.com/davesmarketplace
• Instagraminstagram.com/davesmarketri
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/daves-market-place

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 marketplace