Who We Are
We’re Dawson’s Market, a locally focused, independent, natural foods market located in the heat of Rockville, Maryland, Rockville Town Square.
At Dawson’s, we’re a tight-knit community of food lovers that all work for the same mission: To be the heart and soul of our community through a strong commitment to local and organic foods.
From our business model to the product we carry, this store is an extension of who we are and how we live. Our stewards and customers are constantly searching for the best local products, tending to their gardens, recycling, composting, advocating, volunteering, riding their bikes, sampling chocolates and spirits, playing in the river, washing veggies and well … having fun.
The commitment to our community includes the people and food that goes in it and complete dedication to bringing you the best of what Maryland has to offer.
Connection to community is important to us and is the reason behind the name, Dawson’s Market. As one of the most influential farming families in, what is now, Montgomery County, the Dawson’s have paved the way for local agriculture and much more in the Rockville community. Take a journey through their history.
Our Roots
We’re not afraid to let our roots show. Dawson’s Market is new to Rockville but we’ve been in the business since the mid 1980s as Ellwood Thompson’s Local Market in Richmond, Virginia.
In the mid 1980s, Eric Walters, an employee of Richmond’s first vegetarian restaurant, began selling supplements, vitamins and a very limited selection of specialty natural products from a small corner of the restaurant. By the end of the 1980s it was time to expand.
Rick Hood, a local architect, was in the process of renovating a neighborhood shopping center. Together Hood and Walters opened City Market, a small 3,000 square foot full-service community market, to serve Richmonders hungry for organic and natural products. The store also featured organic produce and a small takeout deli.
In 1993, City Market moved to a larger space in Carytown. Shortly after moving, the store was renamed based on the suggestion of an employee’s 12-year-old daughter, Anica. Although many believe Mr. Ellwood Thompson owns the store, it’s actually named after the streets that intersect where the store is located.
Since then, Hood has become deeply committed to the market’s mission of community and environmental practices and has served as the driving force in the decision to bring a mission driven business, loved by thousands, to Rockville, Maryland.
Dawson’s Market began as the germ of an idea in 2007. Rick loved the Rockville history, geography, sense of community and, after much research into communities he felt would be the best fit for our mission driven business model, felt that Rockville Town Square would be the perfect place to set up shop. In 2010 the conversations with our friends at Federal Realty began, support from Rockville leadership was in place, and two years later, we are proud to be part of Rockville’s community of health-minded residents.
The history of Dawson’s Market is just beginning but we are ready for the journey and appreciate everyone’s support.