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JD Vance's former grocery store boss remembers him as an employee

JD Vance's former grocery store boss remembers him as an employee

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More than two decades before becoming a vice presidential candidate, JD Vance was a cashier in Ohio at Dillman Foods in Middletown.

Vance's stint as a 17-year-old food salesman influenced his political views. In “Hillbilly Elegy,” he wrote that observing the habits of rich and poor shoppers and watching people on food stamps “take advantage of the welfare system” initially made him realize that liberal policies “weren’t all they said they were.” “.

Fast forward to now: A 40-year-old Vance will represent the Republican ticket in Tuesday night's vice presidential debate against Democrat Tim Walz.

Steve Dillman, Vance's boss at the grocery store, said Vance was a quiet, nice, typical teenager. Asked how he thinks Vance will do in tonight's debate, he told The Enquirer: “I think he'll do well.”

“He was a neighbor kid from a neighbor family,” said Dillman, who knew Vance’s grandparents. “He was a good employee. He was honest. He was reliable. He was always in a good mood. Luckily for me, he was someone I didn’t have to watch out for.”

For several months while attending Middletown High School, Vance worked nights and weekends at the grocery store, which has since closed, Dillman said. He walked the short distance from his grandmother's house on McKinley Street to the grocery store on Central Avenue.

Dillman does not describe himself as a Republican or Democrat. He plans to vote for Vance.

“This is a young man who comes from a difficult childhood and was taken in by his grandparents,” he said. “He joined the Marines. Came out, went to Ohio State. Was accepted to Yale Law School… Now he is a 40-year-old vice presidential candidate of the United States. I think that's a pretty amazing story when you look at it.” Really break it down and don't get political.

Dillman, whose family owned grocery stores in Middletown for nearly 90 years, closed the Central Avenue store in 2014 due to declining sales, an increase in thefts and competition from discount retailers. It joined a wave of shuttered family-owned grocery stores in Middletown.

“It’s a typical blue-collar town,” Dillman said of Middletown. “It has changed. It suffered some setbacks. It is doing its best to recover now.”

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