Price Chopper
A shared-brand network of family-owned supermarket chains serving the Kansas City and Des Moines metropolitan areas.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Price Chopper / Price Mart is a Midwestern supermarket brand used by several separately owned grocery-store chains rather than by one centrally owned national corporation. The network was formed in 1979 in the Kansas City and Des Moines metropolitan areas and developed around a common identity, shared marketing, and participation in Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG). The arrangement enables independent ownership groups to obtain purchasing leverage and coordinate marketing while continuing to operate their own stores. The Kansas City side of the network is associated with the Ball, Cosentino, McKeever, and Queen families. In the Des Moines area, the participating ownership groups include Crestline Capital, an entity associated with the Bass family of Texas, and DGS Foods. The ownership structure is therefore a defining feature of the brand: Price Chopper is best understood as a cooperative or shared-brand retail system composed of multiple family-owned operators, not as a conventional single-company chain with one parent corporation. The stores sell standard supermarket merchandise, including food, fresh groceries, household supplies, and other everyday consumer goods. The brand has used the slogans “Just Right” and “Fresher Ways to Save,” emphasizing a balance between value, product freshness, and neighborhood convenience. Through AWG, the operators can share buying power and marketing expenses, helping the stores compete with much larger supermarket companies in their regional markets. In 2015, Price Chopper was described as the largest grocery-store chain in the Kansas City metropolitan area by both sales and store count. That same year, the network expanded its presence in the Des Moines market by acquiring five former Dahl’s supermarket locations. The combined ownership groups were reported to operate 55 stores across Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa. Hy-Vee has been identified as the principal competitor in both the Kansas City and Des Moines markets. The Midwestern Price Chopper brand is distinct from similarly named supermarket businesses in Canada, New Zealand, New York, and New England. Those businesses have separate histories and ownership, and the Midwestern entity should not be conflated with them. The brand remains a regional supermarket presence built around locally owned operators, shared procurement, and coordinated marketing.
History
Price Chopper / Price Mart emerged in 1979 as a shared supermarket identity serving the Kansas City and Des Moines metropolitan areas. Unlike a conventional supermarket corporation, the brand brought together multiple independent, family-owned operating groups. These owners adopted a common name and coordinated marketing while retaining separate ownership and operational responsibilities. The Kansas City ownership organizations are connected with the Ball, Cosentino, McKeever, and Queen families. The Des Moines participants include Crestline Capital, an organization associated with the Bass family of Texas, and DGS Foods. The presence of multiple ownership groups has allowed the brand to maintain a local and regional character rather than becoming a centrally managed national chain. A major element of the model is membership in Associated Wholesale Grocers. AWG provides cooperative buying services and enables participating retailers to obtain purchasing scale that would otherwise be difficult for independent operators to achieve. The Price Chopper operators also share marketing costs and use common brand communications. This structure supports competition with larger supermarket companies while preserving family ownership in individual markets. The stores operate across Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa and offer the broad range of groceries and household merchandise expected from full-service supermarkets. The brand’s marketing has included the slogans “Just Right” and “Fresher Ways to Save,” which communicate value and freshness as central retail propositions. By 2015, Price Chopper was described as the largest grocery-store chain in the Kansas City metropolitan area when measured by sales and number of stores. The network also expanded its Iowa presence that year by acquiring five former Dahl’s stores in the Des Moines area. Across the participating ownership groups, the brand was reported to encompass 55 stores in the three-state region. Price Chopper’s competitive environment includes Hy-Vee, identified as its largest competitor in both Kansas City and Des Moines. Its regional strategy depends on local store operations, shared procurement, and a unified public identity rather than on national-scale corporate ownership. The Midwestern chain is unrelated to businesses using the Price Chopper name in Canada, New Zealand, New York, and New England.
- 2015
Expansion into the Des Moines area
[1]Price Chopper acquired five former Dahl’s supermarket locations, expanding the brand’s presence in the Des Moines, Iowa, market.
- 2015
Largest Kansas City grocery chain by reported local scale
[1]Price Chopper was reported as the Kansas City metropolitan area’s largest grocery-store chain by both sales and number of stores.
- 1979
Shared Price Chopper identity established
[1]Separate family-owned grocery operators in the Kansas City and Des Moines metropolitan areas formed a shared supermarket brand with coordinated marketing.
Products and positioning
Regional neighborhood supermarket network combining family ownership and local market presence with cooperative purchasing power, shared marketing, and value-oriented grocery retailing.
Supermarket retail
Full-service grocery assortment
Price Chopper stores provide a conventional supermarket assortment centered on everyday food shopping. The range includes fresh produce, meat, seafood, dairy, eggs, bakery goods, frozen foods, packaged groceries, beverages, and prepared or convenience foods. Stores also carry non-food necessities such as household cleaning products, paper goods, and personal-care merchandise. The precise assortment can vary by independently operated location.
Controversies
2019
Price Chopper recalls cheeses and prepared deli foods over possible metal contamination
Price Chopper said it was voluntarily recalling two deli cheeses and prepared deli foods made with those cheeses because of the possible presence of metal on the food’s surface. Purchased products could be returned for a full refund.
Marketing campaigns
Brand decisions
2015
Acquisition of five former Dahl’s storesM&ABackground
The Price Chopper network sought to establish a presence in the Des Moines metropolitan area.
Action taken
Price Chopper acquired five supermarket locations formerly operated by Dahl’s and brought them into its Des Moines-area operations.
Aftermath
The transaction expanded the network’s Iowa footprint and contributed to a reported total of 55 stores across Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa.
Recent events
- 2015
Price Chopper entered the Des Moines market through the acquisition of five former Dahl's stores[1]
M&A · Other
The Price Chopper network expanded into the Des Moines, Iowa, area by acquiring five supermarket locations formerly operated by Dahl's.
Sources4 sources
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