Chicagoist Weekend Theater: Goodbye Dominick's Finer Foods

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Dec 29, 2013 8:00PM

Saturday marked the end of the line for 72 Dominick's supermarkets in the Chicago area as the chain, which started in 1918, becomes a part of Chicago history.

Some of us who grew up in Chicago in the 1970s and '80s remember a time when Dominick's and Jewel competed for the business of thousands of Chicagoans via local ads touting the range of grocery options and freshest food available.

Courtesy of Rick Klein's Museum of Classic Chicago Television, here is a series of commercials that aired on Chicago airwaves in late 1973 featuring children's show hostess Elaine Mulqueen. At this date, Dominick's had 50 stores across Chicago. By the time they were purchased by Safeway in 1998 there were 118 locations; Safeway immediately closed 20.

We dare you to not spend a few moments this afternoon trying to mimic Mulqueen's accent.