User:Dannemiller

Betsy Ross Foods

Betsy Ross Foods 1954-1985 Akron, Ohio. Founded by Walter N. Dannemiller.

In 1954, Mr. Dannemiller acquired Akron Coffee and Grocery Company, re-branding the company Betsy Ross Foods comprised of 76 Sparkle grocery stores with retail sales of $3.5 Million. The total number of stores grew to 120 Sparkles with retail sales of $129 Million by 1972. At the time, Betsy Ross Foods was the area's largest volume food distributor; operating in a 65 mile radius of Akron, Ohio.

On September 1, 1985 Betsy Ross Foods was purchased by Peter J. Schmitt & Co. for an undisclosed sum. In 1988, Peter J. Schmitt & Co. was sold with annual retail sales of $1.1 Billion. In 1992, the new owners of Peter J. Schmitt & Co., which operated Apple and Sparkle Markets, filed for bankruptcy and lost control of the Sparkle Market brand; presently there are a number of independent markets using the Sparkle name operating throughout Ohio.

Mr. Dannemiller died on August 21, 1973 of an apparent heart attack. He was survived by his wife, Clara and their two children Walter N. Dannemiller Jr. (deceased September 2017) and Nicholas Dannemiller, ALM, Harvard University. Clara Dannemiller died in 1992. She was a philanthropist serving on the board of several Akron area NGOs including St. Thomas Hospital, Good Neighbors and the YWCA. Walter and Clara Dannemiller were founding members of Silver Lake Country Club in Silver Lake, Ohio.