Cosentino's Food Stores

Cosentino’s Food Stores is a Kansas City grocery company built by the sons of an Italian fresco painter. Dante Cosentino Sr. came to Kansas City from Italy in 1919 and made his living painting the ceilings of Catholic churches; in 1948 his sons Jim and Jerry, back from the war, took on a small store on Blue Ridge Boulevard, later joined by their younger brother Dante Jr. Seventy-eight years on, six second-generation brothers and cousins run 31 metro stores under the Price Chopper, Apple Market, Sun Fresh and Cosentino’s Market banners, including the downtown market that anchored grocery service in the Central Business District from 2009.

Description

Cosentino’s Food Stores is a family-owned Kansas City grocery company operating 31 stores across the metro under four banners.¹² Like Ball’s Food Stores, it is a locally held company rather than a single storefront, and it earns a Registry entry on the strength of continuous family ownership — three generations of Cosentinos work in the business, with six second-generation brothers and cousins running it.¹²

The four banners occupy different positions. Price Chopper is the value banner, first adopted by the family in 1980. Apple Market and Sun Fresh cover other market segments. Cosentino’s Market is the name used for the company’s own-brand urban stores, of which the best known is the downtown market opened in 2009.¹²

That downtown store matters beyond the company. Its 2009 opening gave the Central Business District a full-service grocery at a point when downtown Kansas City’s residential population was growing but had no such anchor, and it is regularly cited in accounts of the district’s residential revival.

Goods and services

• Full-service supermarkets under four banners¹²
• Price Chopper — value banner, adopted from 1980²
• Apple Market¹²
• Sun Fresh¹²
• Cosentino’s Market — the company’s own-brand urban market format, including the Downtown Market¹²
• Cosentino’s Downtown Market — opened 2009, a full-service grocery in the Central Business District¹²
• Cosentino’s Brookside Market — underwent expansion in 2024³

History

The family’s Kansas City story begins with Dante Cosentino Sr., who arrived from Italy in 1919 and made his living as an artist painting frescoes on the ceilings of area Catholic churches. His frescoes at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish are described as the only surviving examples of his work.²

After the Second World War his sons Jim and Jerry Cosentino returned from service in the U.S. Army and Navy. In 1948 they took on the original Cosentino’s store on Blue Ridge Boulevard, joined later by their younger brother Dante Jr.¹² The family’s own account describes them as having purchased the store; an independent local-history account describes them as having begun managing it — a small but real discrepancy noted below rather than resolved.¹² The early years were a struggle, and the family’s growth is attributed in its own telling to a service culture rather than to price or scale.

Expansion came slowly at first. A second store opened in south Kansas City in the early 1970s.² A Thriftway storefront is dated to 1957 in the company’s own timeline.¹ In 1980 the family opened its first Price Chopper store, in Blue Springs — the beginning of the banner that now accounts for much of the company’s footprint.² The Cosentino’s Downtown Market opened in 2009.¹²

The company today runs 31 stores with over 4,000 employees, led by six second-generation family members, with a third generation working in the business.¹² It marked 75 years in Kansas City in 2023.²

Sources

Links

• Website: https://cosentinos.com/
• Our Story: https://cosentinos.com/our-story/
• KC Yesterday feature: https://kcyesterday.com/articles/cosentinos-food-stores

Footnotes

1. Cosentino’s Food Stores — official “Our Story” page — asserts: Dante Cosentino Sr. arrived in Kansas City from Italy in 1919 and worked as a fresco artist; “In 1948, they purchased the original Cosentino’s store on Blue Ridge Boulevard, joined later by their younger brother Dante, Jr.”; six second-generation family members lead operations — Jamie, Jimmy, Donnie, John, Victor and David Cosentino; the company operates “31 stores under the Price Chopper, Apple Market, Sun Fresh and Cosentino’s Market banners in the Kansas City area” with over 4,000 employees; a 1957 Thriftway storefront and the 2009 Downtown Market grand opening appear in the company timeline. Primary first-party source. (Fetched 2026-08-14.) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³

2. KC Yesterday — “Celebrating A 75-Year Legacy in Kansas City: Cosentino’s Food Stores” — asserts: Dante Cosentino Sr. arrived in Kansas City in 1919 from Italy and painted frescoes on Catholic church ceilings, with his work at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish the only surviving example; “In 1948, after returning from the war, Jim and Jerry began managing the original Cosentino’s Food Store on Blue Ridge Boulevard to be joined later by their younger brother Dante, Jr.”; the six second-generation brothers and cousins currently at the helm are Jamie, Jimmy, Donnie, John, Victor and David Cosentino; a second store opened in south Kansas City in the early 1970s; the first Price Chopper concept opened in Blue Springs in 1980; the Downtown Market opened in 2009; 31 stores under four banners with over 4,000 employees across three generations of family members; “The Cosentino family is incredibly proud of their 75-year history in Kansas City.” Primary independent source for the milestone timeline. (Fetched 2026-08-14.) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷

3. Inside Brookside — “Cosentino’s Brookside Market Undergoing Expansion,” 22 October 2024 — asserts: the Brookside Market was undergoing expansion as of October 2024, corroborating active investment and current operation. ↩