The Grocery Store Principle

Mike Blanton, our late founder, operated his business with what he called the Grocery Store Principle in mind. This means if he saw one of his customers in the grocery store, he wouldn’t feel like he needed to go down another aisle to avoid them, because we didn’t handle their project correctly. Mike wanted to be able to greet every Dalton Carpet One customer he encountered with confidence that we took care of them and their home from start to finish. We continue to operate by the principle today and want to leave every customer feeling confident and excited about their new home update.

A Humble Beginning

Throughout his high school and college years, Mike worked as an installer for his mother’s flooring company out of Atlanta. He did this until founding his own store, Dalton Carpet Outlet, in 1978 with one other part-time employee. Dalton Carpet Outlet eventually became part of the nationwide Carpet One cooperative in 1988 and our name changed to Dalton Carpet One. In 2000, Dalton Carpet One opened its store at Lake Oconee, which was recently renovated and expanded in 2019 to better serve our customers. Mike, our founder, was also a local Lake Oconee homeowner who enjoyed the lake community and felt our company needed to serve the Eatonton and Greensboro communities as well. Dalton Carpet One recently consolidated our Gainesville store, which opened in 1979, to a location in Buford near the Mall of Georgia, which by the end of 2020 will be utilized as a Design Center for new construction homes.

More than Floors

What began as a humble flooring outlet in Athens, Ga., has grown into a large-scale operation spanning across North Georgia and into neighboring states. Dalton Carpet One has always offered hardwood for your living room, carpet for your bedroom, and the installation services that go with it at the highest level of service. As Dalton Carpet One grows, the need for product and service expansion has called us to now sell tile, cabinets, countertops, and all of the other fresh flooring products under the Grocery Store Principle that got us started back in 1978. We also produce interior design, project management, and job site supervision services as a way to make home projects easier for our customers.

New Ownership & Leadership

As of December of 2018, Dalton Carpet One and DCO Commercial Floors, our sister company, are now owned by two long-time employees, JR Allred and Curtis Blanton. Hired in 2004, JR Allred now functions as the President of Dalton Carpet One. During his time here, JR has served in several different roles and managing many aspects of the company, allowing him to acquire a diverse knowledge of our unique business.

Curtis Blanton, son of our late founder Mike Blanton, has worked with the company since graduation in 2007. He operates as a co-owner and the President of DCO Commercial Floors. Under our new leadership, Dalton Carpet One continues to be your family-owned and operated flooring, kitchen and bath experts.

Celebrating 40 Years

Dalton Carpet One celebrated our 40th Anniversary serving local communities in 2018. With Dalton Carpet One’s full range of products, you can select the entire design for your home in one store with assistance from any of our dedicated, in-house designers. From product selections to home measurements, and 3D designs renderings to final installation, Dalton Carpet One is with you every step of the way.

Dalton Carpet One was ranked #21 on Floor Covering Weekly’s Top U.S. Specialty Flooring Retailers in both 2016 and 2017. We ranked #22 in 2018 and jumped up to #16 in 2019.

Dalton Carpet One’s core purpose is to make it easy for customers to confidently create beautiful and functional environments. We look forward to working with you on your next project!