09/30/2026
A Note to Our Customers
A recent post in a local Facebook group raised several concerns about M&M Market. That post has since been removed, but it was visible long enough that many people saw it, commented on it, and contacted us about some of the claims that were made.
We were grateful to see a number of customers speak up for us. Because some of the statements involved the quality and safety of our food, though, we feel it is important to address them directly and give our customers the facts.
Our Store
M&M Market has proudly been part of the Dover community for more than 50 years, and our building itself is more than 100 years old.
We know it is not a brand-new supermarket, but we have continually invested in improving it.
Over the years we have replaced all of the sidewalks around the store, added siding (Jeff Wallick LLC / Wallickโs of Dover), replaced flooring many times, replaced our meat cases twice, added additional cooler and freezer space, reduced clutter, and recently rearranged portions of the store for a cleaner and more open look.
We continue to make improvements whenever we can.
One challenge we have always had is our less-than-ideal location. It has probably been the single biggest obstacle to continued growth over the years. We do not have the visibility or traffic of a larger store on a major retail strip, so we have always had to work especially hard to earn customers and give them a reason to come back.
Dates on Products
We regularly check the products on our shelves.
There is also an important difference between a manufacturerโs โBest Byโ date and an actual food-safety expiration date.
Occasionally, a shelf-stable product may reach its Best By date before we catch it. When we identify those products, they are removed from regular-priced inventory and may be clearly marked and reduced when appropriate.
If a customer ever finds something on our shelf that concerns them, please bring it to our attention. We want to know about it, and we will take care of it.
Custom Meat Cutting
For many years we had a meat cutter available until closing every day.
That has become increasingly difficult from a staffing standpoint.
Currently, we have a meat cutter available until at least 4:30 PM every day, with later coverage on some days. We close at 5:00 PM, and most days we also have someone available after 4:30 who can handle common requests such as cutting steaks or grinding fresh hamburger. That means that maybe, it's possible, depending on the day (Monday specifically), that for a half hour, there isn't someone to do a custom cut (thicker Steak, thicker roast, pork chop etc.), though those products are still available in the case. We are open 55 hours a week. Custom cuts available 54.5 hours a week. (except if a cutter is on vacation, then it will be slightly less).
That covers the overwhelming majority of requests we receive.
For more specialized cuts, customers are always welcome to call ahead during the day and we will gladly have the order ready for pickup anytime before closing.
We currently have two full-time meat cutters: Steve, who has been with M&M Market for nearly 40 years, and Chuck, who has also been with us for a number of years. Kristi also helps part-time with meat cutting while running much of our deli operation.
If you happen to know an experienced part-time meat cutter looking for work later in the day (Sundays would be good too), feel free to send them our way. Like many local businesses, finding experienced employees willing to work those hours has become increasingly difficult.
Customer Service & Our Staff
We have also listened to customer feedback about service over the years.
We know there were a couple of employees in the past whom customers sometimes found difficult, unfriendly, or unpleasant to deal with. We received a number of complaints about those interactions.
Those employees are no longer with M&M Market.
Today, we are extremely pleased with the staff we have.
Along with our longtime employees, we have recently added some great new people who are friendly, helpful, and eager to take care of customers.
Our expectation is simple: everyone who walks through our doors should be treated in a friendly, respectful, and helpful way.
If that is not your experience, we want to know about it.
Food Handling & Quality
One of the more serious comments made suggested that meat dropped on the floor is simply put back into our cases and sold.
That is not an accurate description of how we handle food at M&M Market.
We take food safety seriously.
Product that becomes contaminated is handled appropriately. It is not knowingly put back into the case and sold to a customer.
Our Ham Salad, Sandwich Spreads & Cheese Spreads
We also want to be especially clear about another claim that was made.
We do not use spoiled, moldy, or otherwise substandard meat or cheese in our prepared foods. Period.
We specifically order fresh lunch meats and cheeses for many of our spreads, along with perfectly good ends and pieces from the deli products we slice every day.
Rather than slicing those smaller ends and pieces and putting them into the deli case, we grind them into products such as our ham salad, sandwich spreads, and cheese spreads.
This allows us to use good-quality product efficiently while still offering our customers the best slices from the larger pieces.
Our own employees and our families eat the foods we prepare and are some of our most frequent customers.
A Word About Some of the Comments
We do not believe it is appropriate to discuss private personnel matters in detail on Facebook. However, because those comments can create the impression that former employees left because they believed M&M Market was a bad place to work, we do think some context is fair.
The former employees most relevant to these comments wanted to continue working at M&M Market. Both later asked to return.
Their current dissatisfaction is not because they voluntarily walked away from a workplace they considered unacceptable. The employment relationships ended, and they were unhappy with those outcomes.
We understand that people can have strong feelings when an employment relationship ends.
We are not interested in having personal disputes with former employees on Facebook. But when those feelings turn into public allegations about the safety or quality of our food, we believe our customers deserve accurate information.
More Than 50 Years in Dover
M&M Market has been here for more than 50 years because generations of local customers have supported us and trusted us.
Running an independent neighborhood market is not always easy.
Food costs have risen. Suppliers can be challenging. Staffing is difficult. We compete every day with much larger stores, and our location makes attracting new customers harder than it would be in a high-traffic retail area.
We are probably best described as:
Too big to be small and too small to be big.
That means we fight for every customer โ both to earn them and to keep them.
We are not perfect, and when there is something we can improve, we want to hear about it.
What we will always do is work hard to provide Fresh-Cut Meats, Quality Deli Products, Friendly Service, and Food We Are Comfortable Serving to Our Own Families.
If anyone ever has a genuine concern about something purchased at M&M Market, please contact us directly. Give us the opportunity to look into it and make it right.
Thank you to everyone who has supported M&M Market through the years and continues to do so โ and especially to those who spoke up for us in the recent post. We truly appreciate your business and support.
โ Mike & the M&M Market Team
