In 1940, when Carl Lindner Sr. opened the first United Dairy Farmers store in Cincinnati, his goal was to sell milk from local dairies directly to consumers, saving them the cost of home delivery. At the time, Lindner could not have imagined that his small outlet would morph into 174 retail units across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, selling dairy products—including four million shakes and malts a year—along with fresh foods, groceries and fuel.