WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. – A nearly half-century-old business announced its end on Wednesday, Oct. 2 when owner Dominic Commesso released a statement on Facebook saying Dominick’s, a southern Italian restaurant in Winter Springs, is permanently closing.
The restaurant, located at 1301 Winter Springs Blvd., offered a wide variety of scratch-made, hearty Italian meals from pasta to pizzas and subs. Dominick’s also offered catering services and a corporate menu. Kids ate free on Thursdays, Wine Down Wednesdays were hosted weekly and local bands often performed throughout the week.
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Originally, Dominick’s opened in Auburn, New York, in 1978 by Commesso and his wife Mary. Commesso later moved the business to Central Florida and passed the restaurant on to his children Nicole and Jon.
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In the Facebook post, Commesso gave two reasons for the closure.
“Due to health reasons and the unavailability of workers, we have decided as a family to permanently close for business. We would like to take this opportunity to thank every one of our faithful customers for their patronage. We have had a great run since our inception in 1990!”
Dominick's Restaurant on Facebook
While many Central Florida residents were sorry to hear the news and wished the best for the Commesso family on Facebook, some commenters accused Commesso of blaming the closure on the staff.
In his original post, Commesso wrote “Due to health reasons and the unavailability of competent workers, we have decided as a family to permanently close for business. We would like to take this opportunity to thank every one of our faithful customers for their patronage. We have had a great run since our inception in 1990!”
He later edited the post to remove the word competent.
Dominick’s temporarily closed for three weeks back in September. In a Facebook post, the restaurant announced the business was taking some time off from Sept. 11 to Oct. 2 to “retool the kitchen staff.”
The company website posted job openings for cooks, servers, hostesses and bussers in an attempt to revamp the staff.
Now, the restaurant will close its doors for business permanently.
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