It looks like Dominick's is going bye-bye

Dominick's soon to be a Whole Foods @ 255 E. Grand Ave

I've been following this story for a while since it broke in October. Dominick's has been something of a constant presence in my life as a consumer and it's a sad day when this well known local brand is soon to become a memory. Dominick's became a Safeway subsidiary and they decided to bolt the Chicago market. That means a lot of real estate up for grabs and a lot of people will be out of jobs.

Now the question is what to do with all those stores they still own which are expected to shut down by the end of the year. Well another local brand Jewel (or Jewel's in local parlance) well they've snatched up some of the stores at first it was four but they may have their eye on more Dominick's locations.

Also a new grocery upstart Mariano's owned by a Milwaukee company named Roundy's have bought 11 Dominick's stores recently. In fact a Chicago neighborhood blog Uptown Update seems excited by this possibility. They discovered that rumors of a Whole Foods Market coming to their part of town were untrue.

Did I mention Whole Foods? They have their eye on seven Dominick's locations although it appears at the moment they haven't made a move. Whole Foods seems to be aggressively expanding here in Chicago as they're expected to open a store in Englewood in 2016. Many people are wondering why they want to locate there and if this is a sign of "the dreaded G word".

Anyway, I have to be a bit sad about this development. Many stores have come and gone in my life time. I could reminisce about Zayre, Montgomery Ward, Marshall Field's, or even Venture. Things must change and it's understandable.

At the same time I still hoped that Safeway, in the interest of making money would be willing to at some point sell the Dominick's brand. In a way Montgomery Ward still exists and hopefully Dominick's could still exist in some way even under the many companies who are gobbling up the remains when Safeway exits the Chicago area. It appears at this point Safeway is keeping the brand. :(

Anyway, we have new players in this part of the nation. I've never shopped at a Mariano's, but I've been to a number of Whole Foods and of course I still continue to shop at Jewel which also strong local roots. Then let's not forget for everyone's grocery needs there is now a Walmart in several Chicago neighborhoods. So while it's sad to see a store such as Dominick's with strong local roots close in the area at least there are others who will open in their place.