Mid-Michigan Dining

• 8700 S. Cicero Ave.
• Oak Lawn, IL 60435
• (708) 422-3906
• Website

Dominick's Finer Foods on Cicero Ave. in Oak Lawn, IL

I needed some last minute cream cheese to make an Oreo Cheesecake for my family’s Thanksgiving.  I didn’t want to make a cheesecake in Lansing then try to transport it to Illinois, so I just figured I would buy what  I needed in Chicago, bake it at J’s parents then take it home.  There are a couple options for grocery stores in Oak Lawn, but we went to Dominick’s because we know “someone” there. 🙂

Dominick’s is chain of supermarkets that got it’s start in the Chicago area by Dominick DeMatteo in 1918.  The first supermarket was opened in 1950.  They sold the chain in the late 60’s, but they were so unhappy with the agreement, the family bought the chain back in the 80’s. 

In the 90’s, Dominick’s was an innovator with POS systems, cafe’s, video rental, and many other things that are now commonplace in most major supermarkets.  Dominick DeMatteo died in 1993 and the family put the comapny up for sale.  In 1996, they were sold to LA based Yucaipo Co.  A few years later, they were sold to Safeway Inc.  At the time of the sale, there were 116 Dominick stores.  After years of trying to change the financial structure, Dominick’s now operates 83 stores.

We only needed to pick up a few things and they were pricing those items for holiday sale.  I picked up three packages of cream cheese, a can of sweetened condensed milk, oreos, and a springform pan.  The items rang up to $28, but after the sales were applied, it was just barely over $21 with the pan taking up a good chunk of that price.

I didn’t really get a whole lot that warrants a review and it’s not like most of you are going to run to a Dominick’s to go shopping, but I did want to throw out a little history of a Chicago institution and something you won’t be able find in many markets.