Dominick’s Restaurant, a Syracuse institution for 40 years, to temporarily close

Syracuse, N.Y. — The coronavirus pandemic and temporary dining room shutdown have done to Dominick’s what snowstorms and two major renovations could not — close the restaurant.

The popular Italian restaurant, which opened on Burnet Avenue in 1980, will close at the end of the year. Cynthia Harrington, who operates Dominick’s and owns the restaurant with her three sisters, said the restaurant would reopen “when things come back to normal.”

Dominick’s is among several Syracuse restaurants and bars that have opted to close until the coronavirus restrictions imposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo come to an end. Syracuse and a few surrounding areas are in the state-designated Orange Zone, which prohibits indoor dining. Outdoor dining is allowed, with a maximum of four people per table.

Why more CNY restaurants and bars are opting to shut down and wait for better times

Dominick’s has been open for takeout only since the Orange Zone rules took effect on Nov. 23, but Harrington said it’s not enough to keep the business profitable.

“Takeout-only is so hard to sustain right now,” Harrington said.

Harrington said she and her sisters, Annette Tassone, Deborah Camire and Lisa Crowell, decided in early December that they’d need to temporarily close. January is typically a slower month for restaurants and with concerns that a post-Christmas surge in cases could lead to additional restrictions, they decided it was time.

“It crushes me,” Harrington said. “It breaks my heart.”

Their parents, Dominick and Mary Tassone, opened Dominick’s in 1980. The sisters took over the restaurant after their father’s death in 2011. Harrington grew up in the restaurant and said she was raised on the work ethic of never closing.

Even during the restaurant’s two major renovations that expanded the restaurant from 75 seats to 220, Dominick’s never closed.

In August, the family put the restaurant up for sale. Harrington said they have been in contact with several interested parties.

Until the end of the year, Dominick’s will be open 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday, except for Friday, when they open for lunch at noon and close at 8 p.m. Gift cards will be accepted until the restaurant closes.

Harrington said she was devastated to tell her staff the news.

“When you put 40 years of your life into someone else’s life, you become part of their family,” Harrington said. “It’s hard when that’s taken away.”

Contact Jacob Pucci at jpucci@syracuse.com or find him on Twitter at @JacobPucci.