Lawsons Commercial 1979 | Defunct Ohio Convenience Store | Lawson's Has Good Things In Store For You

1979 commercial for Lawsons Food & Deli convenience store.
Wikipedia says: Lawson, Inc. (株式会社ローソン, Kabushiki gaisha Rōson) is a convenience store franchise chain in Japan. The store originated in the United States in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, but exists today as a Japanese company based in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company has its headquarters in East Tower of Gate City Ohsaki in Ōsaki, Shinagawa, Tokyo.
In 1939, dairy owner James "J.J." Lawson started a store at his Broad Boulevard dairy plant in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, to sell his milk. The Lawson's Milk Company grew into a chain of stores, primarily in Ohio. Lawson was bought out by Consolidated Foods in 1959.
Lawson's neighborhood convenience stores were common in Ohio from the 1960s through the mid-1980s, selling milk, bread, eggs, orange juice, and specialty items such as deli counter 'chipped' style ham and sour cream potato chip dips. Locations also extended into neighboring states such as Pennsylvania, where Lawson's had a presence in the western portion of the state, including Pittsburgh.
Consolidated Foods 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. Under Dairy Mart, the chain experienced some controversy. Dairy Mart was sued by the American Family Association, after a Dairy Mart manager in Ohio complained that the company's policy of selling pornography subjected her to sexual and religious harassment.[8] The court case, Stanley v. Lawson Co., was seen as a test of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The court ultimately ruled in favor of Lawson.
In 2002, a Canadian-based convenience store company, Alimentation Couche-Tard of Laval, Quebec, bought the assets and name of Dairy Mart. (The parent company's French name translates to "Night Owl Food" in English.) Most of the former Dairy Mart stores, 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 demand from consumers, it was announced that Lawson's Chip Dip would continue to be sold no matter what the name of the store. Some independently owned Dairy Mart stores in Ohio survived independent of Circle K and continued to use the Dairy Mart name and final logo under license from Alimentation Couche-Tard. Nine stores still licensed the Dairy Mart brand as of 2022.
Circle K retains a large presence in Ohio to this day due to the enduring legacy of Lawson's, especially in Northeast Ohio and Columbus, primarily competing with Speedway. However, many of the former Lawson's stores under Dairy Mart in Pennsylvania closed during the late 1990s, and only a few survived by the time Circle K took over the locations. Much of this can be attributed to stronger competition in Pennsylvania from 7-Eleven and Altoona-based Sheetz, as well as UniMart and United Refining Company. Additionally, unlike in Ohio, Dairy Mart failed to invest in fuel sales at its Pennsylvania stores. Circle K retains a small presence in Western Pennsylvania today, but unlike Ohio is a non-factor in the area going up against Sheetz, 7-Eleven/Speedway, GetGo, and locally owned Coen Markets.