Price Chopper is adding five stores in Des Moines

The Price Chopper grocery store brand is expanding to the Des Moines area.

Five stores that were part of the Dahl’s Foods chain are to be converted into Price Choppers at the end of March.

Those five stores — and two other Dahl’s locations in that market — were acquired by Associated Wholesale Grocers in January in a bankruptcy reorganization proceeding. The sale is expected to receive final court approval by the end of this month.

Associated, based in Kansas City, Kan., is a retailer-owned cooperative that delivers to more than 2,900 retail outlets in more than 30 states. Price Chopper is an Associated-licensed brand and one of the largest chains in the Kansas City area.

Associated supplied the Dahl’s stores and was the grocer’s largest creditor at the time it filed for bankruptcy protection in November, The Des Moines Register recently reported. The newspaper said Associated paid $2.45 million for the seven Dahl’s locations.

Dahl’s was founded in 1931 and had stores in central Iowa.

Craig Moore, Dahl’s chief executive, said Associated was the highest bidder for the seven stores, but he declined to comment on the financial details. Moore will oversee the Des Moines stores now affiliated with Associated.

“We’re affiliating with a strong group,” Moore said.

Moore said the five Dahl’s stores will be converted to Price Choppers over three days starting March 29.

The two other Dahl’s stores bought by Associated will be converted to a different supermarket setup that will be new to the Des Moines market, although Moore declined to elaborate. Those details will be announced soon, he said.

Moore said all the stores will be remodeled as part of the conversion. The seven stores will have about 700 employees altogether, he said.

This story was originally published March 13, 2015 at 11:42 AM.