Our Story

Tucked away in a modest rock home, Mildred Dalton never imagined that one practical decision in her kitchen would lay the foundation for a company that would become Best Maid Pickles.

Times were tough, and with three children to care for, Mildred and J.O. Dalton looked for ways to earn extra income. J.O. began selling Mildred’s homemade mayonnaise in his Fort Worth grocery store. Little did they know that this humble one-room grocery store would soon be transformed, in part, into a small mayonnaise production facility—launching the family business that would become Best Maid Pickles.

By 1926, demand for Mildred’s homemade mayonnaise had outgrown her kitchen. The Daltons moved production into a small factory within their Fort Worth grocery store, officially establishing Mrs. Dalton’s Mayonnaise Company.

This family photo represents 3 generations of the Dalton family. Pictured at the lower left and only ten years old, is Mildred and Jessie’s son, Garland Son Dalton. Garland began helping by taking orders for pickles and condiments and making deliveries after school. It wasn’t long before he was running the entire company.

The decision to plant a pickle patch transformed the Daltons’ business. As they sold jars of pickles and condiments door-to-door, demand quickly outgrew their facilities. By 1928, the company had relocated to larger quarters at 1418–1420 Tucker Street, where production expanded to include pickles, olives, relishes, and mustard.

As demand for both its pickle and condiment lines continued to grow, the company officially adopted the name Best Maid Pickles—inspired by the words customers and advertisements used time and again to describe its products: homemade and simply “the best.”

Growing demand across North and West Texas led the company to relocate to 951 Evans Avenue, expanding its manufacturing capacity while building a larger sales team and delivery fleet to serve its growing customer base.

Mildred and Jessie’s grandson, Gary, was born in Mansfield, Texas. He later joined the family business, eventually becoming Chairman of the Board. Today, Gary Dalton still serves as Chairman.

The face of Mildred and Jessie’s young daughter, Margie, began gracing the front of every jar of Best Maid. Legend has it that a Best Maid employee drew a caricature of the adorable child, which later evolved into the iconic Smiley face.

After two decades of growth on Fort Worth’s Southside, Best Maid built a new manufacturing facility at 1400 Riverside Drive, expanding production to meet growing demand. Today, the facility remains the heart of the company’s production operations.

Gary Dalton, grandson of the founders, began working at Best Maid in 1955. He loaded trucks and remembers unloading boxcars of glass, salt stock, and other raw materials in bulk. He later moved to sales after working in virtually every area of the plant. (Left to Right: Jessie Otis Dalton, Gary Otis Dalton, Mildred Dalton, grandson-in-law Carl Koch, son Garland Otis Dalton)

The development of a new tank yard facility in Mansfield, Texas on wide-open land was planned to accommodate future growth.

Patricia Dalton, granddaughter of the founders, began working at Best Maid in 1960. She began in production, then at the tank yard, and eventually settled into providing the company with exemplary financial leadership as Chief Financial Officer.

A strategic company investment was made when Son Dalton facilitated the acquisition of Del-Dixi Products. Today Del-Dixi is one the strongest regional pickle labels in Texas.

Traveling salesmen promoted Del-Dixi across the great state of Texas. Del-Dixi remains a staple all over South Texas.

Older wooden tanks became relics of the past. The introduction of fiberglass pickle tanks was a quality move that the pickle industry soon adopted as standard.

Numerous expansion programs were being planned throughout the 70s. The original 1946 facilities seen in the aerial photos shown below were not enough to keep up with growing demand for Best Maid pickles.

The first major expansion was to the south (seen on the left hand side of the photo below), offering much larger production and processing space.

The next major expansion provided Best Maid with the needed warehouse space to ramp up production for years to come. Seen in this photo is the 125,000 square foot storage warehouse.

Best Maid entered a new era of growth, expanding distribution throughout Texas, serving additional grocery and foodservice customers, introducing new product lines, and forming co-packing partnerships.

Best Maid returned to its Southside roots with the opening of the Best Maid Pickle Emporium at 829 W. Vickery Blvd. Believed to be the first brick-and-mortar retail store created by a private pickle company, it became a destination for fans of the iconic Texas brand.

Best Maid celebrates 100 years in business!