Dari Mart is a chain of
convenience stores located in the
U.S. state of
Oregon. Dari Mart has 43 stores located exclusively (as of 2011) within the
Willamette Valley of
Oregon, from
Albany to
Cottage Grove. It is most notable as a supplier of
milk,
ice cream, and other dairy products from
Lochmead Farms, one of the largest independent
dairy farms in the
Pacific Northwest. Most store locations are in the Eugene-Springfield metropolitan area in
Lane County, Oregon. Lochmead Farms sells 1.5 million gallons of milk and half a million gallons of ice cream a year through the chain of stores, and the joint store-farm operation employs more than 450 people.
History
The first Dari Mart store opened in 1965 as a way to market the farm's dairy products. Gladys and Howard Gibson established Lochmead Farms in 1941, and has been owned for three generations by the Gibson family of
Junction City, Oregon. Today, about about 20 Gibson family members spread across three generations work with the Dari Mart and Lochmead Farm companies.Mosley, Joe. "Family farm's crop grows into dairy, chain of stores."
Eugene Register-Guard. Mar. 3, 2002.McDonald, Sherri Buri. "Family Hand-Off."
Eugene Register-Guard. Dec. 25, 2005.
References
External links
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