Dion’s was founded in 1978 by Jon Patten and Bill Scott, long time childhood friends from Birmingham, Michigan. The pair moved to New Mexico and bought a small pizzeria called New York Pizza in Albuquerque with the intention of converting it to a Greek restaurant. The name for their new place was going to be ‘Dionysus’, the name of the Greek god of the grape harvest and wine. When the two received the bid for their new sign, they decided to shorten the name to "Dion's" so that they could save money.[3]
Upon opening, the Greek menu was mildly successful but the customers frequently requested pizza. This quickly became the focal point of the menu.[4] Today their Greek salad is the only vestige of the original menu. Jon and Bill did not have any experience in the restaurant business and neither of them had a business background. They learned their trade as they developed it, gathering help and advice where ever they could.[5][6]
Developmentedit
In 1979, a year after opening their first restaurant, Dion’s built their second location in the North Towne Plaza shopping center in Albuquerque, NM. Soon after that they receive a positive write-up in the Albuquerque Journal which helped boost their sales and sent them on their way to sustainable sales gains in the years to come.
In the early days their stores were located in strip shopping centers around Albuquerque, but starting in 1987, Dion's quickly evolved into free-standing buildings. The new free-standing locations came with drive thru windows which allowed customers to call in their order ahead and pick it up at the window. The pick up window worked very well and eventually accounted for nearly 35% of each store's sales. It became a standard feature on all new freestanding stores. Today all their stores are freestanding and average in size of 5,200 square feet.[4]
Foodedit
Dion’s has a menu with three main items; pizza, salads, and subs.[7] Pizzas are handmade, and available in three sizes. Salads come in two sizes, single or family servings. Their subs can come on either wheat or white bread. Dessert options are cookies and brownies. Beverage options include sodas, lemonade, and sweet tea or unsweetened tea, they also have Arnold Palmer.
Dion's is also known for its "green chile ranch" and "Greek dressing" which it sells in bottles.[8][9][10]
Awardsedit
Dion's has won "Best Pizza" from Albuquerque the Magazine six years in a row.[11] They have also recently won the Literacy Award for their Club Read program from The Camino Real Council of the International Reading Association.[12] In both 2015 and 2016, Dion's was rated top five in Sandelman's Quick-Track Awards of Excellence.[13]
^"Dion's Pizza in the News". www.dions.com. Retrieved 2017-02-03.
External linksedit
Official website
April 17, 2024
dion, dion, privately, owned, group, pizza, restaurants, based, albuquerque, mexico, 2020, dion, operates, restaurants, mexico, texas, colorado, company, typeprivatefounded1978, years, 1978, founderjon, patten, bill, scottheadquartersalbuquerque, mexiconumber,. Dion s is a privately owned group of pizza restaurants based in Albuquerque New Mexico As of 2020 Dion s operates 27 restaurants 22 in New Mexico 2 in Texas and 3 in Colorado 1 2 Dion sCompany typePrivateFounded1978 46 years ago 1978 FounderJon Patten and Bill ScottHeadquartersAlbuquerque New MexicoNumber of locations27Area servedColorado New Mexicoand TexasProductsPizza Subs and SaladsWebsitewww wbr dions wbr com Contents 1 History 2 Development 3 Food 4 Awards 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksHistory editDion s was founded in 1978 by Jon Patten and Bill Scott long time childhood friends from Birmingham Michigan The pair moved to New Mexico and bought a small pizzeria called New York Pizza in Albuquerque with the intention of converting it to a Greek restaurant The name for their new place was going to be Dionysus the name of the Greek god of the grape harvest and wine When the two received the bid for their new sign they decided to shorten the name to Dion s so that they could save money 3 Upon opening the Greek menu was mildly successful but the customers frequently requested pizza This quickly became the focal point of the menu 4 Today their Greek salad is the only vestige of the original menu Jon and Bill did not have any experience in the restaurant business and neither of them had a business background They learned their trade as they developed it gathering help and advice where ever they could 5 6 Development editIn 1979 a year after opening their first restaurant Dion s built their second location in the North Towne Plaza shopping center in Albuquerque NM Soon after that they receive a positive write up in the Albuquerque Journal which helped boost their sales and sent them on their way to sustainable sales gains in the years to come In the early days their stores were located in strip shopping centers around Albuquerque but starting in 1987 Dion s quickly evolved into free standing buildings The new free standing locations came with drive thru windows which allowed customers to call in their order ahead and pick it up at the window The pick up window worked very well and eventually accounted for nearly 35 of each store s sales It became a standard feature on all new freestanding stores Today all their stores are freestanding and average in size of 5 200 square feet 4 Food editDion s has a menu with three main items pizza salads and subs 7 Pizzas are handmade and available in three sizes Salads come in two sizes single or family servings Their subs can come on either wheat or white bread Dessert options are cookies and brownies Beverage options include sodas lemonade and sweet tea or unsweetened tea they also have Arnold Palmer Distinctive New Mexican cuisine pizza toppings include New Mexico chile and pinon Dion s is also known for its green chile ranch and Greek dressing which it sells in bottles 8 9 10 Awards editDion s has won Best Pizza from Albuquerque the Magazine six years in a row 11 They have also recently won the Literacy Award for their Club Read program from The Camino Real Council of the International Reading Association 12 In both 2015 and 2016 Dion s was rated top five in Sandelman s Quick Track Awards of Excellence 13 See also editList of pizza chains of the United StatesPortal nbsp CompaniesReferences edit Restaurant Locator Dion s Pizza Locations Dion s Pizza Dions com Retrieved 2017 02 23 DIon s PIZZA ANNOUNCES GRAND OPENING IN AURORA ON NOVEMBER 12 2015 YourHub Stevens Franchesca May 19 2003 25 years and still partners Albuquerque Journal NM a b Detwiler Mandy Wolf April 2006 Dyno mite Albuquerque chain revels in its simplicity Pizza Today 66 68 Rosales Glen June 8 1998 Pizza Makers Say Ignorance Was Bliss Albuquerque Journal NM History Dion s Pizza Dions com 2012 03 28 Retrieved 2012 07 06 Garduno Gil December 16 2021 Dion s Pizza Albuquerque New Mexico Gil s Thrilling And Filling Blog Retrieved March 4 2023 Dion s adds Southwestern salad to pair with green chile ranch dressing Albuquerque Journal August 10 2018 Retrieved March 4 2023 People rushing Dion s for new green chile ranch KRQE August 29 2017 Retrieved March 4 2023 Landes Craig June 9 2022 Recipe For Success American City Business Journals Retrieved March 4 2023 Albuquerque The Magazine Best Of The City issues December 2011 December 2010 December 2009 December 2008 December 2007 December 2006 awards dions com Retrieved 15 August 2012 Dion s Pizza in the News www dions com Retrieved 2017 02 03 External links editOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dion 27s amp oldid 1170573404, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
