Dominick's New Facade Goes Back to Its Roots

Yet another Franklin Avenue building is paying homage to its roots through a facade renovation that’s stopping passers-by in their tracks .

Dominick Mandalari Jr., who owns tavern with siblings Bruno and Nancy Mandalari, said Tuesday he is excited about the renovation and the public feedback it's generating.

“A lot of people are coming in off the street just to say how nice it looks – and some are even staying to have a drink,” Mandalari said with a laugh. “I think the renovation is fabulous.”

The work, which started in mid-March, is close to being complete. Colors for the street-level exterior will be chosen within the next few days. Carriage lights and new signage will be installed in the coming weeks.

For project designer Allan Orashan of Kent, the work began 23 years ago when he first presented an exterior renovation proposal to Dominick Mandalari Sr., now deceased. Various exterior design ideas were bandied about for years.

Orashan lauds Dominick Sr.’s "children" for making  “a significant investment in this project.” The Mandalaris have applied for a small grant from the Burbick Foundation to help defray costs.

Orashan's design scheme reflects the fact that Dominick’s is actually two buildings combined into one large first-floor space for the tavern. The second level remains divided, with an apartment where Dominick Sr. was born on the south side and storage space on the north side.

“I wanted to give them the look of a late 1890s commercial storefront,” Orashan said. “The first floors of those buildings are by no means a redo of the original buildings, but a reflection of that time. What you see on the second story reflects, generally, what the tops of those old buildings looked like.”

His design inspiration came from a 1919 photo of the structure when the north-side building served as the Wells Fargo & Co. Express delivery office and the south building served as Mandalari’s grocery store.

The buildings have been in the Mandalari family since 1907, when Bruno Mandalari – father of Dominick Sr. – purchased them to establish a small Italian grocery store. The family, which grew to include 10 children, lived in the apartment upstairs for many years, providing easy access for the children to help out in the store.

Bruno Mandalari obtained a beer license in 1936 and opened the Tap Room. After the grocery store was closed, that side of the building became the Moon Nite Club. In the years since, the family has operated or leased space to others for businesses such as Mandaleri’s Lounge, Town Tavern and the Brass Rail.

The dividing wall came down in about 1990, when the entire street-level space became Dominick’s tavern.