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Around 5:30pm Sunday evening, a fire engulfed the Lakeview Dominick's, located at 3012 N. Broadway. The store was gutted in the 4-alarm blaze but only two minor injuries were reported despite the store being full of shoppers at the time the fire broke out. Dominick's spokeperson Wynona Redmond stated to the media that "A very astute deli worker saw a ball of fire and got on the intercom, even before the alarm sounded." His quick actions likely saved many others from injury.
Officials are still investigating the cause and location where the fire began. Chicagoist has heard reports of the fire starting in the bread aisle, the paper goods aisle and the liquor dept. I'm sure there are enough rumors and speculation to place the starting point just about everywhere in the store -- except for maybe in the product section what with those "Singing in the Rain" veggie sprayers.
While the initial reports seem to rule out arson, the local media is certainly trying to sensationalize the story with that angle by mentioning that a "22-year-old man with a history of mental problems and pyromania [was] reported missing from the All American Nursing Home, at 5448 N. Broadway." There was also supposedly a customer who was angry that his car was towed from the Dominick's lot. So clearly he must have thought torching the store was justified.
When Chicagoist checked out the scene in person around 10pm last night, there were still big crowds watching the Chicago Fire Dept. continue to work at the scene. We heard numerous local residents mourn for their local store -- the only one within walking distance for those who live in the area. They also felt bad for the displaced employees.
While some feared that the Dominick's would be replaced with condos or some other store and leave them without a grocery permanently, Dominick's spokesperson Wynona Redmond said, "there is no reason for us not to rebuild," because the store does good business. Nonetheless, those living in the area will likely have to find someplace else to shop for the next few months. And it looks like Chicagoist will be driving our girlfriend to the grocery store more often now.
Photo via ABC 7
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It was a very surreal situation last night. I had just started to head home from Borders on my bike when I saw the plume of black smoke in the sky. I thought it was one of the condo highrises at first but was shocked when I saw the Dominicks on fire.
What made the moment memorable were the hundreds of people standing on the othe side of the street, a majority of them with cameras or camera phones, taking pictures of the whole thing.
i've got to say, the smell was nearly unbearable when it finally reached my apartment. burning rubber/plastic stench... just awful, filled the air, no escaping it.
I stopped going there years ago, every time I bought bread, I would take it out of the bag when I got home only to discover it was actually toast!
I used to shop there when I lived in the 'hood, and I have to say it was one of the crappier stores around. Poor produce, a terrible meat section that never had a full selection in stock, and almost nothing beyond the shopping basics. Worse yet, when I moved and started shopping at Trader Joe's, I discovered my bill was relatively high. And oh yeah, it was always dark and moody in there.
I hope Dominick's takes the opportunity to build a great new store that can really compete with Trader Joe's and Whole Foods in quality, if not selection.
overheard(dozens of times): "Ooo, does this mean we will get a better one now?"
Also, from someone inside the store: "It started in back by the meats - it was an electrical fire from one of the pieces of equipment - and then spread quickly to Aisle 8, where the paper towels are."
I am sure the Duralogs and Firestarters that sat in between those two locations provided a nice conduit.
we always called it the 'ghetto dominicks.' cause for where it was located in the city, it wa so ghetto. so small and dingy and never had any product, it seemed. so weird.
i was in the area doing some shopping and just sat and watched the mfker burn, if you will.
it was super surreal to watch people watch and take pictures and watch the flames just get worse and worse, rather than better.
to watch the smoke blot out the sun, making an eclipseian moment that i had to keep making myself look away from.
it was quite the scene. i watched for about a 1/2 hour.... just mesmerizing.
1. That was the biggest flame trail around boystown that I have ever seen.
2. Enough with the pity trip for those that have to walk a couple more blocks to Treasure Island or Jewel. Boo hoo.
I had left the area about 90 minutes before it started, and was shocked to come back and see all the police and fire fighters still in the area at 10:30.
On the plus side, this makes it easier to fight my late night cravings.
While I'm sorry that all you lakeview sorts lost your Dominicks, I'm faced with losing my only grocey store within walking distance that made the lakeview dominicks look like Fox and Obels, and my only other option is a rather run down poorly stocked Jewel over a mile away. ugh
I feel bad for the people that used to shop and work there, but...that store was the worst. I can't remember how many times I'd go there only to find they had 6 loaves of stale bread left, expired milk and and rancid yogurt on their shelves. Good bye Dominicks--hello condos!
"2. Enough with the pity trip for those that have to walk a couple more blocks to Treasure Island or Jewel. Boo hoo."
You make fun, but you lack perspective.
It isn't about walking just "a couple more blocks." For me, and thousands of others, there is no grocery store now within a mile radius of my home. That is significant - I do not have a car to use to travel to one.
There are numerous benefits (both economic and moral) to having neighborhood grocery stores, and numerous problems that arise with their absence.
Lou, I think you're the one lacking perspective here. So anything over a mile away from your house is no longer a "neighborhood" grocery store? I think Jewel and Treasure Island would be suprised to hear that they aren't in the Lakeview/Boystown neighborhood (not to mention that they make no economic or moral contribution to the area).
I don't own a car and walk to the grocery and at most this will be a minor inconvenience for me. It's probably not much more than a 5 minute walk from Dominick's to Treasure Island.
Yes, I feel bad for those that are elderly or have medical problems -- but it was probably a struggle for them to get to Dominick's in the first place. The 95% of the area that is able bodied don't have too much to complain about...
phil - you do realize that where you live and where I live are two separate places.
Just because it is a minor inconvenience for you doesn't mean it isn't a major inconvenience for me.
Treasure Island is the closest grocery store to that Dominicks, and it is 6/10 of a mile north. I already live a half-mile from the Dominicks, which would mean that my closest grocery store is now over 1 mile away.
And, yes, it is awful to be elderly and have medical problems, but a 10-minute walk to Dominick's was certainly manageable.
You also need to work on your reading comprehension - the Jewel and Treasure Island provide numerous benefits for their neighborhood. But being over a mile away is out of the neighborhood when you are talking about dense, urban settings. Thus, the absence of a grocery store now in south east lakeview and north lincoln park will lead to negative effects on a lot of issues.
We aren't all young hipster yuppies in this neighborhood who can just get over it...
Ever heard of Market Place? It's a nice little full service grocery at 521 West Diversey Parkway. If one lives half a mile south of 3012 N Broadway, Marketplace is much less than a mile from one's house and may in fact be closer than the Dominick's was. Now, one could complain that Market Place is too expensive (I don't know--been years since I lived in the neighborhood, but when I did it seemed reasonable), but that wasn't the issue--it was "neighborhood grocers". Market Place definitely fits in as a neighborhood grocer and should not be overlooked.
Lou, I have a hard time imagining that there are thousands of people in Lakeview without a grocery within a mile of their homes, especially with Jewel and Treasure Island north of Diversey, Market Place on Diversey and Lincoln Park Market and Big Apple market to the south. I suppose if you live west it's a problem, but then you're not in "south east lakeview and north lincoln park" (this puts you in "west north to south central lakeview/lincoln park").
What are the numerous problems that will arise in Dominick's absence? Beyond the loss of jobs, I fail to imagine any long-lasting negative effects to the Lakeview area. Certainly not mass starvation. As you mentioned, it's a dense, urban area. It's also got a dense array of retailers willing to provide what Dominick's isn't. I'll bet many of them are working on it now.
You've got internet access; you've probably got a credit card. Why don't you use peapod.com? Then you don't have to walk anywhere...
Having lived in the neighborhood (1 block from Dominicks) for 18 years, I shopped there almost every day. The employees became our friends. Our daughter was comforted by her "big brother" she called "tall Bobbie" in the meat department. He always had time to listen to her little girl woes. Tall Bobbie is the son of "tall Carol", a veteran checker. Then there's LeShawn, Eugene, Josie, Meena, Doreen, Joyce (who used to sell Streetwise out front of Dominicks and later became a bagger there), Roberto in produce, Moe, Rachel and Carla (a couple of comedians), Farid, and so many others whose names I can't recall, just their faces. We shared our lives. Dominicks was the hearbeat of the neighborhood for us regular customers, especially senior citizens. So glad our paths crossed with those wonderful employees. There were more than 50 people on the payroll there, I say heartfelt thanks to all of you employees/friends who meant so much to us. Our 87 year old neighbor shopped at Dominicks every day. Her entire expedition took two hours. That meant getting herself ready to go, getting her shopping cart out the door, walking to Dominicks where she bought about 3 items per day, talking to everyone in the store, and then walking home. . For her, it wasn't about the shopping, because we neighbors would have brought her whatever she needed. It was all about her friends who worked at the store. This is our loss. We can get groceries anywhere, we can't recreate all of those relationships we have had all these years. Gone with the wind. Ironically, I shopped there Sunday afternoon. My friend Joyce (a bagger) was out in front of the store selling hot dogs, chips and drinks to raise money for prostate cancer. We had a nice chat while I ate my hot dog. Then I helped her pack up so she could get all of her work done before her shift ended. Then I did my shopping, Meena was my checker. I glanced over at another checker named Rachel. I commented to Meena that "it looks like Rachel has a new 'do". Meena said "yes, she looks like her mother now. ." And I said "this is what happens we all turn into our mothers. . ." Meena laughed, the next person in line after me smiled. Meena said have a good day, she really meant it. My receipt says I checked out at 4:48 p.m. The store was so busy, all the carts were taken. So I hurried out to my car to load it, then returned the cart to the store. Then I saw another stray cart by the bank, retrieved that one too. I said goodby to Joyce who was packing up her hot dog stand. Must have been 5 p.m. before I left the parking lot.
A couple of hours later, I saw another Dominicks employee on Broadway, we had talked in the past about organic food. I hugged her and asked if everyone got out, she said they did. I asked her what time the fire broke out, she said it was 5:10. I said "tell everyone how much we loved this store, how much we loved the employees. ." There were tears in her eyes, she said "I will".
To those of you who consider our "little Dominicks" (as my daughter called it) just another outdated store, it will always be a special place because of the people who worked there. Its 53 jobs, its our lives that we shared all these years, small moments of grace in our lives.
People could have died there, many people lived their lives there. So much more than just an old store. . .
Having lived in the neighborhood (1 block from Dominicks) for 18 years, I shopped there almost every day. The employees became our friends. Our daughter was comforted by her "big brother" she called "tall Bobbie" in the meat department. He always had time to listen to her little girl woes. Tall Bobbie is the son of "tall Carol", a veteran checker. Then there's LeShawn, Eugene, Josie, Meena, Doreen, Joyce (who used to sell Streetwise out front of Dominicks and later became a bagger there), Roberto in produce, Moe, Rachel and Carla (a couple of comedians), Farid, and so many others whose names I can't recall, just their faces. We shared our lives. Dominicks was the hearbeat of the neighborhood for us regular customers, especially senior citizens. So glad our paths crossed with those wonderful employees. There were more than 50 people on the payroll there, I say heartfelt thanks to all of you employees/friends who meant so much to us. Our 87 year old neighbor shopped at Dominicks every day. Her entire expedition took two hours. That meant getting herself ready to go, getting her shopping cart out the door, walking to Dominicks where she bought about 3 items per day, talking to everyone in the store, and then walking home. . For her, it wasn't about the shopping, because we neighbors would have brought her whatever she needed. It was all about her friends who worked at the store. This is our loss. We can get groceries anywhere, we can't recreate all of those relationships we have had all these years. Gone with the wind. Ironically, I shopped there Sunday afternoon. My friend Joyce (a bagger) was out in front of the store selling hot dogs, chips and drinks to raise money for prostate cancer. We had a nice chat while I ate my hot dog. Then I helped her pack up so she could get all of her work done before her shift ended. Then I did my shopping, Meena was my checker. I glanced over at another checker named Rachel. I commented to Meena that "it looks like Rachel has a new 'do". Meena said "yes, she looks like her mother now. ." And I said "this is what happens we all turn into our mothers. . ." Meena laughed, the next person in line after me smiled. Meena said have a good day, she really meant it. My receipt says I checked out at 4:48 p.m. The store was so busy, all the carts were taken. So I hurried out to my car to load it, then returned the cart to the store. Then I saw another stray cart by the bank, retrieved that one too. I said goodby to Joyce who was packing up her hot dog stand. Must have been 5 p.m. before I left the parking lot.
A couple of hours later, I saw another Dominicks employee on Broadway, we had talked in the past about organic food. I hugged her and asked if everyone got out, she said they did. I asked her what time the fire broke out, she said it was 5:10. I said "tell everyone how much we loved this store, how much we loved the employees. ." There were tears in her eyes, she said "I will".
To those of you who consider our "little Dominicks" (as my daughter called it) just another outdated store, it will always be a special place because of the people who worked there. Its 53 jobs, people trying to support their families, get through college, make a life for themselves in a new country, Its our lives that we shared all these years, we customers and our friends the veteran employees, the small moments of grace in our lives.
People could have died there, many people lived their lives there. So much more than just an old store. . .
i managed to get some photos, if anyone's interested.
whoa, those are great. here are some more on flickr
What I don't understand is why everyone is convinced that the store is going to close forever and the lot turned into condos. Dominick's (Safeway) probably doesn't own the property--most grocery stores are on leased property. They certainly have insurance which would pay for the repairs--if it's leased they must have that insurance. If the store made money, they'll keep it open; if not, I doubt that Safeway would have kept it open when it closed all those other stores last year. Sure, it probably won't be open again until the end of the year at the earliest, but why wouldn't they reopen it? And then it will be a remodeled store instead of the "outdated store" that it was.
Dominick's is claiming they will rebuild the store, and that store surely needed an update so this may be a blessing in disguise. It'll suck for those who depend on it to not have the store for a while, but the Sun-Times today said it may re-open in only 4 months.
Lets see, how could Dominicks make all of their plans and get the store rebuilt and reopened in only 4 months? Gosh, how could that happen? Didn't this fire come at a convenient time? I read about this idea for a new store in Lakeview, a high-end T.I. type store combined with regular Dominicks, it was in the newspapers more than 6 months ago. Because I talked to an employee about it at the time. I said better that they stay competitive (with a new store) because we want the store to stay open here, we want employees to keep their jobs. The prototype store has recently opened in Glencoe. And how convenient that the fire displaces the bank, the C of C offices and Pizza Hut, all of them with long term leases. FYI: zoning on the site. Years ago when I was active in area organizations, we discussed downzoning, but back then (like 10+ years ago), we had decided to leave Broadway alone because the stores were struggling and we didn't want to recommend doing anything to make it harder for businesses there. So we'll see what happens now.
Back then, I know the Dominicks site could have had a 50-story high rise built on it without a variance. Since then, I don't know. I'm sure we'll be hearing alot about this zoning issue now.