Not in Pullman, but Domini Sandwiches of Spokane is an 'institution' patronized by many Pullmanians
Downtown institution Domini Sandwiches closing in December
By Thomas Clouse, Spokane S-R, Sept. 15, 2024
The most famous sliced meat of the Lilac City, and a side of
free popcorn, will soon vacate downtown Spokane.
Domini’s Sandwiches, a family-legacy business that has served
generations of customers, will officially close on Dec. 6, owner Tom “Tommy”
Domini said.
“It’s going to be sad,” said Domini, 67, who has been looking
to sell for some time. “I’m sure I will be crying and hugging everybody. I’ve
been here for 50 years.”
Domini’s built an institution through customer service, a
sandwich that will stretch any stomach and a menu that changed slower than
glacial melting.
It’s anchored the spot at 703 W. Sprague Ave., on the first
floor of the Washington Trust building, for more than 60 years.
But Domini has been looking for someone to buy his business
for more than a year.
He said he couldn’t go into details about the potential buyer,
who has his permission to carry the Domini name and its signature sandwiches.
The next owner, however, won’t be operating at the current
location in the Washington Trust building.
“The bank decided they wanted to keep that space, so we
couldn’t continue operating in this location,” Domini said.
Despite the uncertainty, Domini said he’s ready to leave the
early mornings and long hours behind.
“It’s time. You’ve got to do something with the rest of your
life,” Domini said. “I feel bad for my employees. They have been with me
through thick and thin. I’m going to treat them well, too. It’s just a shame.”
A legacy meeting place
Domini’s dining room just before noon on Friday mostly had
empty booths.
But the one in back was patronized by Mike and Mike, both
retired Spokane bankers.
“My first job interview was with (AgWest) Farm Credit in
1979,” said Mike Palmer. “For lunch, they brought me here.”
Palmer has been meeting Mike Ekins once a week since then. For
a long time, the Mikes joined a group of five who always took a corner booth.
“It’s that familiarity – it feels like home,” Ekins said.
One of the Domini’s employees knows the Fiat that Palmer
drives, which she refers to as the “clown car.”
Just like most regular customers, their favorite sandwiches
are already being prepared as they enter the restaurant.
“I brought a client here and they ordered a small. (The
client) said, ‘Geez, that’s a big sandwich,’ ” Palmer said. “We started coming
here when Al ran it. Then Joe (Domini) was here for a while, cousin Bobby
(Bruce) and Tom. The room always smelled like fresh popcorn.”
Over the years, the “Mikes” have seen changes, not only to
Domini’s, but the overall logistics of downtown.
“It used to be, you had to be here no later than 11:30 a.m. to
get a place to sit,” Ekins said. “There used to be more people working
downtown. But it’s good for us. We always get a seat. But in the old days? No
way.”
He noted that Domini’s had a unique way of shaming customers
who wrote a bad check. They simply taped the returned check to the post above
the cash register with the name showing for all the other customers to see.
“You couldn’t hold your head up in Spokane,” Ekins said of
those who bounced checks.
The “Mikes” were unaware until Friday of Domini’s pending
closing on Dec. 6.
“It will be the second ‘Day of Infamy,’ when Domini’s closes”
Ekins said, referring to the Dec. 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor attack.
Gerrit Kischner, an educator from Seattle who was in Spokane
to take a class at Washington State University Spokane, said he knew nothing of
Domini’s lore. He just needed lunch on Friday and saw the place.
“I did not expect it to be that big,” Kischner said of his
Reuben sandwich. “The bread is great.”
Kischner mostly eats a vegetarian diet.
“I did look for a salad on the menu. I didn’t see it. I didn’t
ask any further,” he said.
Michelle Petretee was getting her regular – roast beef and
cheddar on French bread with mayonnaise – and had a bag of sandwiches for
others on Friday. It was her second visit to Domini’s this week.
“I’ve been coming here since I got my driver’s license when I
was 16,” she said.
Petretree, a manager and a member of the family that owns
Trudeau’s Marina, said the two businesses have been linked by history.
“We were founded in 1948. They’ve been here since we’ve been
there,” Petretee said. “My parents ate here. My son eats here. My grandson eats
here. You can’t get roast beef like this. It’s made fresh every day.”
Petretree said few places anywhere can see a customer and
start the order.
“When they see me, they start making it,” she said of her
sandwich.
‘Spokane’s loss’
The restaurant was founded in 1947 as the Stockholm Bar on
Howard Street by Tom’s father, Al Domini, and uncle Fred Domini. That business
competed with another set of Domini brothers, who ran the New Deal around the
corner.
A fire in 1962 at the business next door ended Domini’s
tavern. It reopened in 1963 as Domini Sandwiches at 703 W. Sprague Ave.
It moved for a couple years to the Davenport Hotel, which
coincided with Expo ’74, but returned to West Sprague in 1975 after a major
renovation to the Washington Trust building.
Brother Joe Domini left Spokane in 1970 and earned a
psychology degree at the University of Washington before returning home in 1992
to help run the sandwich business. He retired in 2013 and moved to Phoenix.
Joe Domini said he was waiting to play tennis about six months
ago in Phoenix when he overheard a woman in the group ahead of him talking
about how she often visits Spokane and always goes to Domini’s.
“I’m standing around listening to this lady’s conversation. I
said, ‘I’m part of the family.’ She was shocked,” Domini said. “She thought it
was funnier than hell.”
He said it was a reminder of all the customers who have come
through, including movie stars, former Seattle Supersonics player Jack Sikma
and even the late Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who patronized
Domini’s when he was in Spokane managing the Dodgers’ farm team in the early
1970s.
The restaurant would stay open for Hoopfest, Lilac Parades and
even take orders for the University of Washington band. The biggest order
topped 2,000 sandwiches, he said.
But Joe Domini said he’s happy for his little brother.
“Yeah, he needs a break,” Joe said of Tom. “I think he would
have rather sold it and had someone keep it going. It’s Spokane’s loss, too.”
Passing the bun
Domini said the new owner has his blessing to carry the name
and signature sandwiches that customers have embraced over the decades.
Before that can happen, however, the prospective owner needs
to find a location.
“I don’t think it will be downtown,” Tom Domini said. “It’s
just too hard to find a location that is safe enough, and it’s expensive.”
He’ll help the new owner get set up and work with them to
learn the processes.
In the meantime, customers only have until Dec. 6 to order
Domini’s signature sandwiches.
“Hopefully, people will come in to say, ‘Thank you.’ Some have
been coming here for 40 or 50 years. It’s incredible,” Tom Domini said.
“I love my job. It’s been a great experience.”
