Professor Carolyn Balducci, UMichigan, reminisces about the early Dominick's and the later Domino's and the disconnect with "Jersey Shore".

From Dominic to Dominick's to Domino's to "Jersey Shore" 
The pulling of advertising by Domino's Pizza of "Jersey Shore" should make the late Dominic DeVarti (1924-2001) founder of a much beloved campus eatery/beer garden/bar, Dominick's (812 Monroe Street, Ann Arbor) smile down from heaven.

The cafe, founded in the 1960's, was a favorite place of mine since it was only a couple of blocks from my office in the East Quad. (I taught creative writing there from 1977 to 2002.) Dominic and I had a special relationship because our families originated from Benevento. He would greet me with a kiss on the cheek, a cup of espresso, maybe a pastry and we'd sit and chat.

The food was great and moderately priced. The ambiance of groups of students and faculty was noisy and cheerful. The garden, which included a lovely fountain, was very special: on sunny Thursday afternoons, my students would know where to find me during office hours! And on bitter cold Michigan winter days, the warmth of the place and hot soup (served in a bread 'boule') would revive me. On the interior walls hung memorabilia such as photos, posters, objet d'arts, purloined Italian rail road and street signs.

There were no images of religious figures. I liked to gaze at the hand painted panels from antique Sicilian carts or caretti siciliani which Dominic hung high on the cafe's walls, out of reach, ever reminiscent of the medieval past from which universities emerged.

What's the connection between a family owned mid-western bistro and a billion-dollar pizza franchise? Well, many years ago, one of Dominic DeVarti's employees was Tom Monaghan, a college student, who learned about pizza making from Dominic. Monaghan & his brother established their own pizza-business around the concept of door-to-door delivery. (There's no comparison with the fine pizzas made by the DiVartis. If the Monaghans ever learned how to make pizza, they lost the recipe!) The Monaghans set up shop at a store owned by DeVarti in Ann Arbor's neighbor, Ypsilanti, near the campus of Eastern Michigan University. They kept the name of Dominick's Pizza and, if memory serves me, I believe there was some acrimony over their continued use of the name, because Dominick's Pizza changed to Domino's in 1965.
Tom Monaghan has done many charitable things with his money, but he is considered to be more retrograde than most American Catholics and he is particularly unpopular among liberal Ann Arborites because he has given financial support to ultra-conservative causes.

I don't know for a fact if the recent decision to withdraw Domino Pizza's corporate sponsorship from the potentially offensive series, "Jersey Shore," had anything whatsoever to do with Tom Monaghan's tacit respect for Dominic DeVarti's enormous pride in his Italian heritage, but in a round-about way, it may wipe the Karmic slate clean.
 

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