Dion’s is a privately owned chain of

pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, onions ...

restaurants A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearanc ...

based in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

. As of 2020 Dion’s operates 25 restaurants; 20 in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, 2 in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, and 3 in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

History

Dion’s was founded in 1978 by Jon Patten and Bill Scott, long time childhood friends from

Birmingham, Michigan Birmingham is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Detroit located along the Woodward Corridor ( M-1). As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103. History The area comprising what is now the c ...

. The pair moved to New Mexico and bought a small

pizzeria A pizzeria is a restaurant focusing on pizza. As well as pizza, dishes at pizzerias can include kebab, salads and pasta. Many pizzerias offer take-away, where the customer orders their food either in advance or at the restaurant and then take ...

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 In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

’, 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. Upon opening, the Greek menu was mildly successful but the customers frequently requested pizza. This quickly became the focal point of the menu. 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.

Development

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 The ''Albuquerque Journal'' is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of New Mexico. History The ''Golden Gate'' newspaper was founded in June 1880. In the fall of 1880, the owner of the ''Golden Gate'' died and Journal Publishing Company was c ...

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.

Food

Dion’s has a limited menu with the main items being

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a va ...

s and subs. They have three sizes of pizza as well as the gourmet style pizzas. Pizzas are handmade. Dion's is known for its green chile and its ranch and Greek dressings.

Awards

Dion's has won "Best Pizza" from Albuquerque the Magazine six years in a row. They have also recently won the Literacy Award for their Club Read program from The Camino Real Council of the International Reading Association. In both 2015 and 2016, Dion's was rated top five in Sandelman's Quick-Track Awards of Excellence.

References

External links