Mrs. Dominick

The man in front of me in the grocery check out line is irate. He has come in with an outdated coupon and the teenage cashier has rejected it.

"And you are who?!" he roars, so that my ears hurt. "Mrs. Dominick?!"

The young lady takes a breath and simultaneously flips the switch on her lane light that indicates a call for a supervisor.

***

Dominick's has roots in Chicago that go back to my childhood and beyond. Over the decades I've known many a highschooler who, if fortunate enough to be hired, took their first "real" job there, working after school and/or on weekends.

Chicago is a quirky city of rivalries and loyalties run deep. You learn early to declare a side... Cubs or White Sox, Catholic or Public schooling, Coke or Pepsi, Tribune or Sun Times, Democrat or Republican... Wait! There wasn't really a political choice as most Chicagoans back in the day were Democrats.  At least you said you were if you wanted to curry a favor, like let's say an extra garbage can, from your alderman. Anyway, I recall once playing cards in a local women's contract bridge group, a band of fairly intelligent women, and partaking in a serious discussion as to whether we were "Dominick's" or "The Jewel" shoppers, Jewel Food Stores being the only rival grocer at the time. 

Chicagoans don't like change. When Macy's bought out the city's beloved Marshall Field's there was an uproar that Macy's would not keep the name Marshall Field's on its stores. So after that debacle, when Safeway purchased the grocery chain, they knew better than to change the name of the stores. They remained "Dominick's, albeit now featuring "Safeway" products.

***

If I wake before my husband, I'll pick up my IPad and check the world news. I always begin with a glance at the Chicago Tribune. My two younger adult children still live in the city and I like to keep abreast of the city's goings on. I was surprised to see the announcement that Safeway was selling all 72 of it's Chicagoland Dominick's stores.

The article had comments such as: "market fragmentation," "competition from higher-end stores," "increased consumer use of 'big box' and bargain stores" My favorite comment was, "It is the fiduciary responsibility of our board of directors to evaluate any opportunities that may enhance shareholder value.”

I was a frequent Dominick's shopper when I lived in the city. Heck, I passed two stores on my 2.5 mile commute home from my office, so it was convenient, if nothing else. Over the years the stores had been refreshed, as they strove for an upscale modern look. And although the high school workers came and went, they had a core base of employees that remained over the years. I'd known some of the cashiers, butchers and service desk employees for 20 years or more.

Maybe Dominick’s wasn’t always the best bargain, but I knew the store like the back of my hand and I liked their community spirit. They employed a number of people who had a variety of special and different abilities, like Sam, who has cerebral palsy with obvious physical spasticity and speech function issues. And they didn't just employ them as grocery baggers, but as regular employees throughout the store. Sam was a cashier. I once, teasingly, asked Sam if he was old enough to scan my wine purchase. He laughed and told me he was 29. He then thanked me for the compliment and confided that he obtained his youthful-looking genes from his 80-year-old dad.

One day as I drove to Dominick’s, I spotted Sam ambling along, about a mile from work, a to-go soda in hand. I had shopped and was in the process of checking out when I noticed him idling at the front of the store, still sipping his drink. My cashier saw him, too and gestured frantically to Sam, as if to say "get moving." He saw her, nodded and held his soda up by way of response. I tell her that I like Sam. She sighs, “Sam’s the only employee I know who always arrives 1/2 hour early, only to clock in late.” We both smiled.

***

It took me a while but I found a grocery chain out here in the sticks, that I like a lot. It's a 33 minute country drive, roughly a gallon of gas. But oh, is it worth it.

Here's why I like Hy-Vee, in no particular order:

The liquor store is very large and includes lots of wine and local craft beer options and offers the usual 10% a purchase of 6 or more items.

The bakery section is expansive with a variety of fresh and artisan breads. In addition to the typical bakery fare of cakes, pies, coffeecakes, etc. they have fancy colorful cupcakes, mini-desserts and cute little shot glass desserts, perfect one-serving bites of deliciousness, all of which can be purchased in quantities of 1 - 100.

The large produce section contains all the fresh yield you’d expect, but peppered among are more unusual items, including offerings from numerous local farmers.

There is a separate portion of the store devoted to organics, health food and gluten-free, with its own organic dairy section. Everything in the "health market" can be purchased each Wednesday at a 10% discount.

They have the regular cheese selections of packaged sliced, grated and chunk cheese and as well as an upscale, fancy cheese section, featuring gorgeous wheels of cheese from around the globe as well as perfectly veined Maytag bleu cheese directly from nearby in Iowa.

There is an expansive prepared food section at Hy-Vee. In addition to the customary selections, there are extra options that give it a food court, if not quite a bistro feel. They've a Caribou Coffee mini-store, a fresh pizza section and an area devoted to Chinese cuisine which, some say, easily outdoes the area Chinese carryout eateries. Sushi and sandwiches are made to-order by hand. The soup/salad bar, is fresh and contains wide variety of options.

 The list goes on:

-Cents-off on gas purchased at Hy-Vee or local Casey Stores. 76 cents off per gallon of gas for us last visit!

-Free cookies from the bakery for kids ages ten and under

-Near the entrance expectant mom parking

-On-line grocery list print outs, listing aisle numbers, a map of the store, and any necessary corresponding coupons.

-And not that I've need of one, but they have a dietician on hand in each and every Hy-Vee store.

Like Dominick's, Hy-Vee has great community involvement. As we shopped recently, the entire Clinton, Iowa high school band came marching up and down every aisle of the store, performing in honor of their upcoming homecoming game. Happy, fresh-scrubbed, cornfed, heartland kids, with a healthy sprinkling of diversity. And they were quite good, I must say.

More importantly to me, like Dominick's, they also give high school kids that jump start in the job market, they have long-time employee retention, and they employ people of varying different and special physical abilities.

Hy-Vee is a "employee owned" store. I'm not a student of economics and don't know how this differs from "profit sharing" companies, but I do know that for the most part it produces happy, smiling, helpful employees, with whom I'm beginning to become acquainted. Soon one or two will become a favorite, just like Sam.

Oh, there it is again, that pang. Sam, oh Sam, what will become of you?

"Fiduciary interest" be damned.

"90 years ago, Sicilian immigrant Dominick DiMatteo opened a tiny grocery store on Chicago's West Side, ...he opened a second location with his 16-year-old son, Dominick DiMatteo Jr., and the grocery chain was born." 

So, apparently there actually was a "Mrs. Dominick."