In 1951, brothers Ted and Karl Hench, owners of Hench's Meat Market, joined forces with John Nolan, Jr, proprietor of Nolan's Grocery, to open a grocery store in Defiance, Ohio.

The very first Chief Supermarket was located at 511 Perry Street in Defiance. On Sunday, March 4, 1951, the doors opened and in four and a half hours, 8200 people walked through the store on grand opening day.

The new store was named Chief because the men wanted their modern new supermarket to be a community leader; standing for honesty, integrity and fairness. Shopping at Chief meant visiting a modern, clean store with the highest quality meat and produce. Plus, a trip to Chief was a guarantee you would be well cared for. The Chief Way of doing business continues today.

Chief is a community and associate focused supermarket with locations throughout Northwest and West Central Ohio. Chief Supermarkets remain family-owned by founder Ted Hench's son, Eric Hench.

Chief Supermarkets is a solid community citizen. Our Chief associates work hard to make the communities where stores are located, excellent places. Chief offers the Good Neighbor and Community Cash Programs, where local organizations can receive donations just by shopping our stores. The company also operates a grant program which rewards community outreach projects that focus on youth.