This Lawson’s was located on Portage Trail.
In 1939, a dairy owner named James Lawson started a store at his Broad Boulevard dairy plant in Cuyahoga Falls to sell his milk. The Lawson’s Milk Company grew to a chain of stores, primarily in Ohio. Lawson was bought out by Consolidated Foods in 1959. Shortly afterward, in 1962, James Lawson died from injuries suffered in a head-on car crash on Graham Road near his home in Stow.
Consolidated was renamed Sara Lee in 1985. At about the same time, Lawson’s stores in the United States were sold to Dairy Mart, a smaller chain of convenience stores located in Enfield, Connecticut. Dairy Mart moved its headquarters to Cuyahoga Falls, renamed the Lawson’s stores, and operated the chain as Dairy Mart for the next 17 years.
In 2002, Alimentation Couche-Tard of Laval, Quebec bought the assets and name of Dairy Mart. Most of the former Dairy Mart stores — many of which were either originally Lawson’s stores, or were located in communities in which Lawson’s once had a presence — were converted to the Circle K brand. Due to popular response from consumers in Ohio and elsewhere, it was announced that Lawson’s Chip Dip would continue to be sold “no matter what the name of the store”, as was reported in the Akron Beacon-Journal.
Where can I find the egg nog ?
When I was in Japan in 2001 I was really surprised to see Lawson’s stores all over the place! Same blue sign, also convenience store but with chopsticks and other Asian foods!
Lawson s plant on Newberry St Cuyahoga Falls, when 1st built , wasn’t it a rubber company?
Yes, Falls Rubber Company 🙂
I remember going to the one in Xenia, Ohio as a kid. That where we got our milk and the building looked the same.
Looking for pictures of Lawson store at 252 east cuyahoga falls Ave akron ohio 44310. There was an apt upstairs that I lived in from 1958 to 1966. Next door to dairy queen. It was operated or managed by Harry and Amy whisman.
I still love the French Onion Dip but I miss their chip=chop ham too. I ask a deli clerk for it and they look at me like I was nuts! The need more stores like the old Lawson’s/Dairy Mart
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this article fails to mention the most interesting part of the Lawson story! Lawson stores in the USA closed in the 1980s but the name and brand exists in thousands of locations all over Japan and China. Evidently a few have sprung up in Hawaii, so maybe Lawson will one day come full circle and return to Ohio. The fact that a ubiquitous convenience store in Asia came from Cuyahoga Falls is totally amazing.
I for one would love to see Lawson’s return to Northeast Ohio, particularly in Parma Hts. As a boy I remember walking up the street to buy milk because my Mom thought it was the best tasting milk in town. (Though Bosak Dairy fans would certainly contest that) That and the chip-chopped ham and their chip dip made Lawsons a truly memorable store.
I was with Lawson’s from 1970 to 1980 as VP Finance and loved the people there. We had 750 convenience stores, a dairy producing over 3 million gallons of milk per month, a bakery producing 8,000 loaves of bread per hour, an ice cream plant with a one acre freezer and a pastry department. The neighborhood loved the bakery fragrance.