Dion’s was founded in 1978 by Jon Patten and Bill Scott, long time childhood friends from Birmingham, Michigan. The pair moved to New Mexico and bought a small pizzeria called New York Pizza in Albuquerque with the intention of converting it to a Greek restaurant. The name for their new place was going to be ‘Dionysus’, the name of the Greek god of the grape harvest and wine. When the two received the bid for their new sign, they decided to shorten the name to "Dion's" so that they could save money. Upon opening, the Greek menu was mildly successful but the customers frequently requested pizza. This quickly became the focal point of the menu. Today their Greek salad is the only vestige of the original menu. Jon and Bill did not have any experience in the restaurant business and neither of them had a business background. They learned their trade as they developed it, gathering help and advice where ever they could.
Development
In 1979, a year after opening their first restaurant, Dion’s built their second location in the North Towne Plaza shopping center in Albuquerque, NM. Soon after that they receive a positive write-up in the Albuquerque Journal which helped boost their sales and sent them on their way to sustainable sales gains in the years to come. In the early days their stores were located in strip shopping centers around Albuquerque, but starting in 1987, Dion's quickly evolved into free-standing buildings. The new free-standing locations came with drive thru windows which allowed customers to call in their order ahead and pick it up at the window. The pick up window worked very well and eventually accounted for nearly 35% of each store's sales. It became a standard feature on all new freestanding stores. Today all their stores are freestanding and average in size of 5,200 square feet.
Food
Dion’s has a limited menu with the main items being pizza, salads and subs. They have three sizes of pizza as well as the gourmet style pizzas. Pizzas are handmade. Dion's is known for its green chile and its ranch and Greek dressings.
Awards
Dion's has won "Best Pizza" from Albuquerque the Magazine six years in a row. They have also recently won the Literacy Award for their Club Read program from The Camino Real Council of the International Reading Association. In both 2015 and 2016, Dion's was rated top five in Sandelman's Quick-Track Awards of Excellence.
