Dear Dominic's

Dear Dominic's:

I am writing to you today to tell you that the reason I shop at your store on Howard Avenue is because it is the only supermarket within walking distance from my home. In fact, I'd hazard to say that better than half of the people who shop in that store do so because of the proximity to their homes. Yes, you have a mammoth parking lot, but I have to say that I've never seen it full.

With that said, I'd like to encourage you to take a look at the clientele of your store on Howard Avenue. In particular, you might just stand at one of the check-out lines and notice how many of your customers are paying with a Link card. In case you're not familiar with the Link card, it is Illinois's food-stamp program. I can tell you that virtually every time I've been to your store, the person in front of me and the person behind me pays with this card.

Now, I ask you: do you think these customers care about mood lighting in a grocery store? Yes, the apples gleam and look quaint in their rustic baskets, but does that manufactured charm really justify charging a dollar and a quarter for each apple? Am I really paying four dollars for a gallon of milk because that's how much you need to charge to make a fair profit, or is it to pay for the soft track lighting that makes my reflection from the cooler look ten years younger? Do you really think that romantic lighting is necessary for the customers who wander to the back of the store to purchase their forty ounces?

I've been shopping at your store for nearly five years. In that time I've established a pattern. I know where everything is. Or, I knew where everything was. Now I have to wander up and down the aisles in a daze looking for the staples that usually stock my kitchen. And for the record, why do you not carry Coco Wheats? Beef boullion cubes? Non-aerosol Scrubbing Bubbles? Why don't you carry the boxes of frozen broccoli? I've purchased these things in the past, and now suddenly you've stopped carrying them?

And while we're on the topic, what is up with the meat department? The meat literally glows with all the dye and the new track lighting. And that dye must really taste good and be very expensive because I can walk around the corner to the little independent vegetable stand and buy the same cut of meat for nearly thirty percent less.

On the plus side, I have to say that conceptually I'm against genetically engineered food, but in practice I've become addicted to those apple/pear cross breeds. But, for nearly a month you were out of stock and I went through withdrawal right there in your produce deparment. But I looked radiant under the new lights while I did it.

Thank you for your kind attention and patience.