ABOUT US | Keymarket

A Local Story...

Our founder, Jack Dehoff, was born and raised in Redwood City. After school and on weekends, Jack worked in his father's business, Dehoff Lumber, located along the Old Bayshore Highway, south of the Port of Redwood City.
Later, while attending Sequoia High School, he got started in the grocery business, bagging groceries and sorting bottles for a small local grocery chain, Lee Bros. in the 1950's

A Local Story...

With hard work and determination, he went on to become manager for Lee Bros. and eventually ran several of the chain's stores, including some they called Key Market. In 1972, the store located at the corner of Upton and Roosevelt in Redwood City became available and Jack and wife, Nancy decided it was time to venture out on their own. Jack purchased the store and set out to build a business based on the fundamentals: premium grain-fed beef, hand-selected produce, honest pricing and good old-fashioned customer service. The goal was always to make the customers feel right at home and really enjoy their shopping experience.

A Local Story...

Today, over 50 years later, Dehoff's Key Market remains the favorite place to shop for the community. With the Redwood city location, the company stands with a long track record of maintaining all the principles that built the store from the start: good people, quality products, and honest value.

A Local Story...

Over the years, the size of the Dehoff family has grown as well as the business. Jack and Nancy have five children: Mike, Chris, Pat, Jackie and Colleen and ten grandchildren...so far. Following the family tradition, they all started working in the store at an early age doing everything including sorting bottles, bagging groceries and trimming produce. All have stayed in the business and have become active in all aspects including grocery, meat, produce, accounting, point of sale, and nearly everything else.

A Local Story...

Son, Chris became the company's general manager in 1988 and continues to uphold all the ideals created when the business first began. As Chris says, "We are proud of the fact that we're 'locally grown' and have such strong roots here. We think it makes a difference in how we operate, how we take care of our customers, and how we respond to what they need. We've been doing business this way for over 50 years now. It's great to be a real part of our communities, serving families year after year."