The Rise and Fall of Big Dom’s Subs

by G. Jack Urso
 

Introduction

In 2020, archeologists excavating in the ruins of Pompeii discovered an ancient Roman thermopolium, where hot ready-to-eat food was sold — sort of the equivalent of a fast-food take-out restaurant. According to a Dec. 16, 2020, France 24 article, its well-preserved state presents a colorful array of frescoes as well as the remains of such food and accoutrements as “duck bones, fava beans, wine, and a paella-style dish of pork, goat, bird, fish, and snail, alongside cooking dishes, flasks, and storage vessels.” Thus far, approximately eighty such thermopolia have been discovered at Pompeii.

It’s not too far a reach to conjecture that some of these thermopolia were owned by a single enterprising merchant or a merchant family with relatives running various franchise locations. Who the owner of this particular thermopolium was is unknown, yet it must have represented years of hard work. Perhaps it was generational, with the thermopolium being handed down from one family member to another for decades. In one day, however, it was over. The long years of hard work and a family legacy vanished in an instant. We may never know who they were or what lessons their lives could have taught us about Roman business practices and the dreams and struggles that come along with it.

While we have the tools to record our history, we have a responsibility to do so, even if the topics might seem ephemeral. Reading this article, reminded me, in a roundabout way, of Big Dom’s Subs, a long-lost chain of submarine sandwich shops in the Capital District area (centering on Albany, NY) from the 1960s to 1991. In the great scheme of things it is barely a blip in the historical record, yet in recounting the history and operations of the company we can learn a lot about business practices at the time, local culture, and the hopes and hard work of many that came to an abrupt end.

Full Disclosure

In the interest of full transparency, it should be noted that I write this article having had some past experience with Big Dom’s Subs and the Basile family who operated it. I worked as a sandwich maker in eight locations. My mother and I cleaned the corporate offices as well as the homes of company president Dominic (Big Dom) and his younger brother and vice president Joe (Li’l Joe) Basile. My brother and sister also both worked at Big Dom’s, my brother as a shift leader.

In the early 1970s, my mother and some of her friends met at Dom’s sister’s (Roccatelle/Rocky) apartment Friday nights in sort of a New Age book discussion group. I believe it was Rocky who recommended my mother to clean Big Dom’s offices in the basement at 19 New Scotland Avenue. Becoming a trusted worker, they continued to employ my mother at the various locations of their corporate offices whenever they moved as well as Dom's and Joe's private homes, which I helped her do in addition to cleaning the offices.

Dominic and his wife, Jeanette, affectionately nicknamed Birdie due to an abbreviated form of her maiden last name, Burdick, and her love of owls, made an immediate impression with her slim figure contrasted with Big Dom’s large frame. Both Dom and Joe sometimes gave my mom an extra case of some food or beverage samples they had leftover. As she was on a tight budget, it was always appreciated.

The Basiles were very kind. They had a vacation home in Miami, Florida, they allowed us to use for one memorable month in the summer of 1973. They also gave my mother work after her divorce when all she had was a sixth-grade education and no work experience outside the home in nearly two decades. My mother continued to clean their offices and homes through 1985 when Birdie asked my mother to live in her old family home in Delhi, NY, as a house sitter. For my mother, who grew up on a farm in Sicily, it was a return to her roots in middle age. The home seemed as though it saw little change since the 1930s. It was like stepping back in time.

Finally, as a side note, the Big Dom’s location at 1825 Central Ave., Colonie, NY, on the corner of Vly Rd., was later occupied by my Uncle Jim Urso in the 1990s for his last business venture, “Jim’s Take Out.”

Walt’s Submarine Sandwiches Inc.

According to Bizapedia and various Times Union (Albany, NY) articles, Walt's Submarine Sandwiches, Inc., the corporate parent for Big Dom’s Subs, officially registered as a New York Domestic Business Corporation by Dominic Basile and Walter Austin on April 17, 1968. This is the year typically given in articles in the Times Union, which also lists 283 Ontario Street as the location of the first store; however, according to my research of the Albany City Directories and other sources, when Walt's Submarines Sandwiches first started, and where it was located, is complicated story.

As noted in the Albany City Directories, Walt Submarines was actually first listed as a business in 1964 with Walter Auster as the owner, and at 271 Ontario Street (see images 1 and 19), not 283 Ontario. This places Walt's in business at least four years before incorporating with Big Dom. Additionally, page 7 of the September 18, 1964, edition of the Albany Student Press (see image 8 below) includes an ad for Walt's Subs, putting the store in business prior to 1968 and with the copy inferring a possible start date before 1964, though after the 1963 city directory had been compiled.

Image 1: 1964 Albany City Directory listing for Walt’s Submarine Sandwiches.

I went back into the 1950s, but Walt's Sub's is not listed before the 1964 directory. Additionally, while Walt's is listed in the 1964 and 1965 directories, and at 271 Ontario, the store is not listed in the 1966 directory. After skipping a year, Walt's reappears in the 1967 Albany City Directory, but this time at its new address at 283 Ontario (see image 2).

Image 2: 1967 Walt's Submarines listing (Albany City Directory).

The city directories typically list the owner/owners of a business and only Austin is listed. Dominic Basile was added to the list in 1968. Oral history has it that Big Dom first met Walt while delivering meats to the sandwich shop — Dom saw a great business opportunity and joined up with Walt. The fact that Walt’s Submarine Sandwiches is listed four years before incorporation suggests that there may indeed be some truth to the story. In addition to its subs, Walt's was also known for its lemonade, a product that disappeared during the Big Dom years.

Image 3: Walt's Submarines Sandwiches advertisement (circa 1972).

I was not able to find out how long Walter Austin remained with the company. His name disappears from the directories in 1971. Based on my experience with the company, I believe the relationship ceased by the early 1970s, though that is just speculation. I was not able to find any other information about him.

Image 4: 1971 Albany City Directory entry with Joe Basile listed.

According to the Albany City Directories, by 1970, Walt’s Subs added a store at 954 Central Ave. The directories also list the owners of the business. In 1970, Walter Austin is identified as the president and secretary of Walt’s Submarines Sandwiches Inc. and Dominic Basile as the Vice President. In the 1971 directory, Walter Austin disappears from the listings and Dominic Basile moves up to president and secretary.

Interestingly, Joe Basile is listed for the first time in the 1971 Albany City Directory (see image 4), though no position with the company is noted. As noted on the Basile Family website, in 1972, Joe Basile bought 35 percent of business from his brother Dom. Times Union articles dating to the time of the breakup of the brother’s business relationship in 1988 reported it to be a 32.5 percent share. In the 1972 directory, Joe is listed as the vice president, indicating he worked at the store a year before buying into it.

Image 5: Walt's Submarines Sandwiches advertisement.

According to the caption for the photo from the Albany Area Archives (see image 6), the Ontario Street location was still named Walt’s Subs in 1973. If the date is accurate, then the Basiles continued to operate the sub shops as Walt’s Submarine Sandwiches until the Big Dom brand roll out. When exactly the Walt’s Submarines shops were renamed Big Dom’s is not clear. The Albany City Directories only list the company as Walt’s Submarines Sandwiches Inc., which remained the corporate name. Big Dom's was regarded as division of Walt's Submarine Sandwiches, Inc.

The Albany City Directories list the 283 Ontario Street address as late as 1976 (see image 9), but according to the Albany history blog Doc Circe Died For Our Sins, by 1977 Big Dom's moved from the 283 Ontario Street location to 846 Madison Avenue, on the corner of Ontario and Madison. 283 Ontario Street is just half a block away from 846 Madison. At least twelve businesses preceded Big Dom’s at the Madison Avenue location since its first reported tenant in 1888.    

   

Image 6: Walt's Subs, 283 Ontario St., in 1973 (left, Times Union). Image 7: 283 Ontario St. in 2021. Now a vacant lot. (right, author's collection).

While that seems cut and dry, the matter regarding the Ontario Street location gets even more complicated with the aforementioned advertisement in the September 18, 1964, Albany Student Press newspaper announcing Walt's Subs move from 271 Ontario to the corner of Madison and Ontario (see image 7), contradicting the information in the Albany City Directory and Doc Circe's well-researched chronology of the businesses that once occupied 846 Madison. The move apparently didn't last long since it was not recorded in the Albany City Directory, meaning it may have only lasted there a few months before moving back to 271 Ontario where the directories have it listed for both 1964 and 1965. What really happened is a mystery and despite my research I am unable to account for this discrepancy.

Image 8: Sept. 18, 1964, advertisement in the Albany Student Press.

Nevertheless, once Big Dom came aboard, in addition to the 283 Ontario Street and 954 Central Avenue locations, Walt’s added a store at 19 New Scotland Avenue in 1972, all in Albany. According to the Albany City Directory, by 1976, they were also operating stores at 463 Troy-Schenectady Road, Latham, and 1810 Western Avenue, Westmere (see images 9 and 10).

In regards to the Western Avenue location, on Big Dom’s advertising in 1979, the address is listed as 1808 Western (see image 15). 1808 and 1810 Western Ave. are adjoining rental retail spaces. I know when I worked there in the early 1980s it was at 1808 Western Ave. Since both the 1976 advertising and the Albany City Directory list the 1810 Western Ave. address, it seems that sometime between 1976 and 1979 the store was moved to 1808 Western when the space became available.

Big Dom’s

As noted in the advertisement in image 10, at least through 1976, the stores were still branded Walt's Submarine Sandwiches, though the ad also uses Big Dom's name, suggesting the transition to the Big Dom's brand was underway.

At its height, Big Dom’s had ten locations in the Capital Region. Nine locations were opened up by 1981, including:

1. 846 Madison Avenue (corner of Madison Ave. & Ontario St.) Albany, NY. Originally at 283 Ontario Street.

2. 954 Central Avenue, Albany, NY (later moved to Westgate Plaza, 911 Central Ave.)

3. 19 New Scotland Ave., Albany, NY

4. 471 Troy Schenectady Rd., Latham, NY

5. 1808 Western Ave., Westmere, NY

6. 79 Broadway, Menands, NY

7. 1825 Central Ave., Colonie, NY

8. 1790 Altamont Ave., Rotterdam NY

9. 1419 Broadway, Schenectady, NY (opened 1988)

10. Congress & Third Street, Troy, NY

Additionally, a concession stand was located at J.B. Scott’s, 321 Central Ave. Albany’s famed nightclub which, despite its brief existence from 1979-1982, saw such acts as Bryan Adams, Buddy Rich, Count Basie, Iggy Pop, John Lee Hooker, John Mellencamp, Judas Priest, Meat Loaf, Pat Benatar, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Go-Go's, The Ramones, Thin Lizzy, and U2, among many more. Included in that number was Albany’s own New Wave and Soul/R&B band, Blotto, who achieved some modest fame for its song "I Wanna Be A Lifeguard,” noted as being among the music videos played the first day of MTV’s debut. 

Image 9: 1976 Albany City Directory listing.

The best Big Dom’s locations probably were most affordably run as take-out joints. A few had small counters, but there was seldom enough room for much in terms of in-house eating accommodations. This kept down the rent. One miscalculation may have been the move from 954 Central Avenue, a small converted single-family home, to Westgate Plaza, 911 Central Ave. The Westgate Plaza location had two to three times the floor space of the 954 Central Ave. location. Even by Subway or Mr. Subb standards, some of which do have in-house eating areas, it was large. Of course, there was no wait staff. As with Mr. Subb or Subway locations today, the customer got their food and sat down. The turn-over of seated customers for this type of dining is usually high, so half the size would have been sufficient. As it was, during my shifts at least, the eating space was only occasionally used. It seemed like a waste of money. Notably, when a Mr. Subb later took over the location the space was cut up and had about half the eating space of Big Dom’s.

Image 10: 1976 Big Dom’s advertisement and menu. Note the use of
Big Dom's name though the store is still called Walt's Submarine Sandwiches.

The executive offices were originally located in the basement of the store at 19 New Scotland Avenue, which was established sometime in 1972, or at least that’s when it first turns up in the city directory. I recall helping my mother clean the offices at the 19 New Scotland Avenue location, and the move in 1973 to the more palatial location on the third floor of 33 Essex Street, behind the then-Carnavale’s grocery store (75 Watervliet Avenue) probably the largest store of its kind in the Capital District at the time (now Harriett Gibbons High School). By the fall of 1983, the offices moved to its final location at 155 Exchange Street, all in Albany. My mother’s cleaning service, and myself by default, cleaned all three locations, giving me an inside look at operations.

Marketing

The shift from Walt’s Submarine Sandwiches to Big Dom’s Subs gave the company an instantly recognizable name and icon. In an era of personality-driven marketing with such characters as Ronald McDonald, Burger King, Wendy, the KFC Colonel, Long John Silver, Arthur Treacher, and Beefsteak Charlie, the large grinning figure of Big Dom with his waxed handlebar mustache fit right in. Radio and TV advertising and sales promotions pushed the product to a large blue and white collar worker and college student clientele. Indeed, Albany itself at the time was home to no less than seven colleges and business schools, not to mention all those state workers.

Cleaning up the offices, I was able to see how the advertising layout worked in the era before personal business computers. The office had a large drafting table with various sized logos and Big Dom graphics which were cut out and organized around typewritten text, which was then photocopied and sent off to the printer or newspaper.

Image 11: Big Dom's coupons in the All About Albany board game (circa 1981).

One memorable humorous TV ad introduced the “Li’l Joe’s” line of deli sandwiches, with a reticent Joe Basile refusing to step out from behind Big Dom. They also were one of the sponsors for a stock car at the Fonda Speedway driven by local legend Danny Ody (see image 12, below).

Image 12: Danny Ody and his stock car with Big Dom's logo (Fonda Hall of Fame).

There was also one planned campaign involving a photo shoot with a beautiful young model dressed in a tight-fitting Big Dom’s t-shirt and short-shorts. There were probably hundreds of pictures of various poses, but as I recall none were ever used for any marketing campaign — and the adolescent me would surely have remembered. The model did stop by the offices once while I was cleaning it up with my mother, earning me some not-so-gentle reminders from my mom to stop staring and get back to work.

Image 13: Matchbook (author's collection).

The Menu

The great thing about Big Dom’s was all the great food. A large professional kitchen at the New Scotland Avenue location produced meatballs, sausages, tuna fish, seafood salad, etc., for distribution to all the stores. Some of this work may have also been done at the 954 Central Avenue location. A Big Dom’s truck dedicated to delivery to the stores made its rounds every day.

Image 14: Walt's Subs Menu — early 1970s, but post-1972. Note that
Big Dom’s name is being used for marketing before the franchise name change.  

The location themselves had deli slicers to cut the meats and cheeses as needed. Ovens were used to prepare hot foods. There were no dishwashers. Everything was scrubbed by hand. Speaking of hands, there were no latex gloves, and if things got busy we may not have washed our hands between orders. It was definitely a different era.

Image 15: 1979 advertisement.

The rolls were supplied by Carosello’s Bakery were some of the best I’ve ever had. My absolute favorite was the meatball sub. In something unique for Big Dom’s, which I’ve not seen elsewhere, was that the meatballs were rolled out into short tubes, about four-inches long — basically, the size and shape of sausages. This made for an easier to handle sandwich and better inventory control. While in ball form, an inexact number of meatballs were used, but as tubes one knew precisely how many “meatballs” were needed.

The variety of subs was outstanding. In addition to cold cuts, tuna and seafood salad, and the aforementioned meatball sub, there were also vegetarian subs, sausage and peppers, veal and peppers, surf and turf, a pacific islander, and eggplant parmesan. Who, I ask, does an eggplant parmesan? Big freakin’ Dom’s, that’s who.

Image 16: 1981 advertisement.

The Li’l Joe’s line of deli sandwiches included the popular Reuben, hot pastrami, and “bar-b-q” beef. Fountain soda and Very Fine juices rounded out the beverage offerings.

Operations

In addition to Big Dom as president, Joe as vice president, Birdie as office manager, and Norman Tillman as general manager, the executive staff also included at least four supervisors and one administrative assistant.

The supervisors each had several locations they oversaw. A shift began with the supervisors calling around to get inventory numbers. If one location was short of supplies, the supervisor would bring what was needed in from another store. After getting the inventory numbers, they would call in orders to suppliers before going out on their rounds.

At the stores, supervisors would add new memorandum to a clipboard hung on a wall, discuss any new procedures, and basically handle any issue above the shift leader's pay grade. Dealing with the problems from the array of oddball customers and employees also fell on their list of duties. It was basic quality control, but without this middle-management position the stores and operations would have quickly fallen into disarray.

Shift leaders were responsible for cashing in and cashing out and running the shift report from the register which would show what subs and beverages were ordered. By the late 1970s all locations were using registers with computers that could be programmed with PLU codes that could be assigned to each product. It made accounting for inventory, costs, and profits more precise than the mechanical monstrosities of just a decade before. Nevertheless, a thick binder with instructions was nearby and I remember often having to crack it open to solve a problem or run a shift report.

The money was put in a drop-in safe that only the supervisors had the combination to and who would pick it up on their rounds. I questioned the security of this method since the supervisors drove easy to identify company cars which had the Big Dom logo and name. Starting about 1981, these vehicles were yellow Ford Escorts and had the black Big Dom’s logo — yellow and black being the company colors.

Image 17: A Big Dom's t-shirt (Skreened.com). Workers wore a yellow zip-up or buttoned short-sleeve work shirt and a yellow and white baseball hat with the Big Dom's logo.

The company also promoted from within, with sandwich makers being able to rise up to shift leaders, and in some cases to supervisor. Despite the high turnover in entry-level workers endemic in food service, many workers stayed with the company 10, 15, and even 20 years. This was due to a general family atmosphere that was cultivated in the company. Dom and Joe were usually very approachable.

Still though, it was hard work. If you had an eight-hour shift you were on your feet for eight hours. The stores were open until 2 am or 3 am Sunday through Thursday, and up to 4 am on Fridays and Saturdays. In addition to workers and students there were also conmen, pimps, prostitutes, drunks, speed freaks, and crackheads. The saddest were the Moonies who came around trying to sell cheap trinkets. Invariably, these were Asian women with limited English skills and one could not help but feel they were being exploited.

One popular perk was that employees were allowed one free sub per shift. By the early 1980s, I think that became a half (6-inch) sub, a drink, and some chips. Supervisors, who set the schedules, were usually pretty accommodating when it came to time off. Someone was always looking to pick up another shift. We also had some wide latitude when it came to dealing with disruptive customers. A short bat of some sort was usually close by under the counter. It was not company policy, but if one made its way into a store supervisors never protested.

Big Dom’s brother Lenny served as a security consultant with the company. He was a big guy and wore a large revolver in a shoulder holster. Lenny had the goods, so to speak. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army as a military police officer during the Vietnam War. He was a combat veteran who was awarded two Bronze Star Citations for heroism and valor. One story Lenny told of his time in Vietnam was how he made his drivers sit in the passenger seat of the jeep while he drove, so as not to be a sniper target. Lenny took his work seriously and he was not someone to fuck around with, particularly if he was on duty. 

Considering the store hours, and the high volume of traffic on a weekend night, the locations were easy targets, especially since they had no security cameras.  One late evening or early morning about 1980 or 1981 one young man decided to try his luck at the store on the corner of Madison and Ontario Avenue (see image 18, below) and ran smack into an armed Lenny. One person's account on the now-defunct Times Union blogs page suggests it was the third night in a row a robbery was attempted at that location, presumably by the same individual, if the account is accurate. 

[Ed. note: more information on this incident was later reported and is available at Aeolus 13 Umbra: Shot by Guard — Albany Stickup Suspect Killed, 1980.]

Image 18: The former Big Dom’s location at 846 Madison Avenue,
now Madison’s Pizza (July 2021).

According to those I interviewed who also recall the incident, the young man took off north up Ontario and turned left on Yates Street. Lenny chased him and near a church shot him in the back of the neck. On one hand, one had to respect a shot in the dark at a moving target. On the other hand, the young man was running away. He was presenting no danger to Lenny or the store employees but hitting the same store three nights in a row, if true, shows a level of desperation overriding even criminal common sense. While the young man should not have tried robbing a store, I still remember being a bit horrified at the time.

Supposedly, if the oral history is true, the case was brought before a grand jury, but no indictment was handed down. Not knowing the date of the incident, I was unable to confirm the story in the Times Union microfilm archives at the Albany Public Library, so the details presented here have to be taken for what they are — unverified oral accounts.

The End

Image 19: 271 Ontario Street, where Walt Submarine Sandwiches
began circa 1964, now boarded up (July 2021).

In a Time magazine article dated April 5, 1982, Dom noted the seasonal challenges of running a sandwich shop as well as the expenses. The article reports an increase in rent from $300 to $350 month ($836.88 and $976.35 respectively in 2021 dollars) by local landlord Richard Gerrity. Eventually, they settled on a payment of 3,000 free sub coupons for Gerrity's workers at his nearby machine tool shop in exchange for two-years rent. This situation exemplifies the on-going challenges Big Dom's faced in a seasonal business.

By the late 1980s, the relationship between the two brothers got rocky. In June 1988, Joseph Basile petitioned the courts to dissolve the business relationship between him and his brother Dominic. According to a July 27, 1988, article in the Times Union, this action followed a decision in 1986 by the Walt Submarine Sandwiches Inc. board of directors, comprised of the Basiles  and Walter Breakell II, that Big Dom would retire from the company with Joe taking over the reins. Dom had been having health problems, not unexpected given his age and size, and the time seemed right for a change.

Unfortunately, the relationship between the brothers quickly soured. The Times Union article cited above reported that during the two-year period Big Dom was in retirement he and his wife Jeannette were paid $75,000 (approximately $184,211 in 2021) in salary and benefits each year without doing any work. While one can understand Joe’s perspective, Dom did build the company up during its first formative four years. It was his image on all the advertising and marketing materials, even the uniforms, so some sort of compensation was not unreasonable, if perhaps not quite as much.

The July 27, 1988, Times Union article goes on to state that in March 1988 Dom reasserted control of the company in a meeting with his wife Birdie, who served as the office manager, and general manager Norman Tillman, demoted Joe was demoted from president to vice president of marketing. With neither Joe nor Walter Breakell in attendance, and so not the full board, the legality of the move seems problematic. In any event, it didn’t last long and on April 22, 1988, Dom fired his brother altogether.

Few details of the disagreement between the brothers are reported, but according to an April 6, 1990, Times Union article, “In June 1988, Joseph Basile asked the court to dissolve the 20-year-old corporation after Dominic Basile threatened to fire him [Joseph Basile], freeze his salary and have him arrested if he entered the company's headquarters.” As noted in the article, Dominic claimed Joe spent money on such things as car repairs, a dishwasher, and some personal expenses.

I can see an argument for Big Dom to continue to get compensated while in retirement, and I can also justify Joe’s expenses. Only the supervisors had company cars and Joe, who often visited the locations, drove his own car, as Big Dom did (easily identified with the personalized “Big Dom” license plate). So, the car repairs seem justified. As far as the dishwasher is concerned, it seems like nickel and dime stuff. If it was really that big a deal the company could be reimbursed the relatively small amount of money. It did not seem worth severing family ties over, but of course I was not there and can only report what’s been written in the open press, which likely does not tell the whole story.

On April 6, 1990, the Times Union reported that on April 3 Big Dom’s filed for bankruptcy protection citing a “cash flow problem” and “debts of $870,200 and assets of $230,683” (approximately $1,792,299 and $475,124 in 2021). That same week, New York State Supreme Court Justice Daniel Prior ruled Dominic owed his brother Joe $200,000 (approximately at least $411,928 in 2021) for his shares in the company, plus interest, starting from June 1988. The stores continued to operate for a time, but the end was near.

By Sept. 25, 1990, according to the Times Union, Joe withdrew a bid of $260,000 (approximately $535,506 in 2021) to buy the chain. In a Feb. 8, 1991, article, the Times Union reported, “The Big Dom's chain closed after operating since last April under the protection of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Albany.” The final judgement was affirmed on May 9, 1991, in a decision on an appeal filed in the State Supreme Court, Justice Prior presiding. This ruling confirmed Joe Basile was owned the $200,000 previously awarded in April 1990 for his 32.5 percent of the company, or 65 common shares.

Ironically, Big Dom’s main competitor during the two decades of its existence, the Mike’s Submarines-Neba Roast Beef sandwich shop chain, also went bankrupt in 1990. Increased competition from larger regional chains such as Mr. Subb, Subway, and Jreck’s (who bought the Mike's Neba franchise) made making a buck in the sandwich business hard going. The sibling rivalry didn’t help either.

Altogether, Walt’s Submarine Sandwiches Inc. endured for about 27 years as a business. Of that time, for approximately 16 years, it was known as Big Dom’s Subs — a brief period in the region’s history. Nowadays, one would be hard pressed to find anyone under 50 who remembers the chain. Such is the transient nature of business.

Legacy

Image 20: Another view of the vacant lot at 283 Ontario Street, site of the second Walt’s Sub’s location (June 2021). See images 6 and 7 for a side-by-side before and after picture.

Because of the marketing using the iconic image of Big Dom himself, the company enjoyed a high profile during it’s time. If the company had been around longer, I can see the possibility of the Big Dom name expanding into a line of local grocery store products, such as dressings and rebranded Italian imports. There was a lot of lost potential for growth.

Big Dom’s success allowed for him and Joe to afford an upper middle-class lifestyle with nice homes and tuition for private schools for their children. They worked hard on an original marketing concept which remains a model for success for small family businesses looking to establish a regional presence. The ending reminds me of the old saying to never go into business with family, particularly in the food business, as the question of ownership and responsibilities can get murky. While businesses come and go, our family relationships should transcend the bottom line.

In a way, I was witness to a sort-of funeral for Big Dom’s. It was at a house party in Albany shortly after the stores closed for good and were being cleared out. Two acquaintances pulled up in their truck with the large Big Dom’s sign from the store on the corner of Madison and Ontario. The sign was in the store colors of yellow and black and had Big Dom’s iconic image, which could light up. On the way to the party, they saw the sign outside the store on the curb as trash, so they took a chance and picked it up. It remained a popular fixture for backyard house parties until everyone moved out. It was reportedly given to an earnest young party-goer who admired it. Its current whereabouts, if not in a landfill somewhere, is unknown.

Perhaps someday, thousands of years from now, that sign will be dug by future archeologists, like the ones at Pompeii who in 2020 discovered that ancient thermopolium, and wonder what the story is behind the image. As I contemplate the legacy of Big Dom's Subs, I am reminded of the old Latin saying, sic transit gloria mundi — thus passes the glory of the world.

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Locations

Below are images from Google Maps (and a couple I took) of the locations of Big Dom's stores in the Capitol Region. In some cases, the buildings have been heavily renovated, demolished and replaced, or the lot left vacant.

271 Ontario Street. Albany, NY. Original location (author's collection. 2021).

283 Ontario Str., Albany, NY, second location, in 1973 (right, Times Union) and 2021, now demolished (right, author's collection).

846 Madison Avenue, Albany, NY. Third location (author's collection, 2021).

 

19 Broadway, Menands, NY (Google Maps, 2023). The building hasn't changed.

19 New Scotland. Ave., Albany, NY, in 2007. Big Dom's was the middle store. This entire block of stores has since been demolished and replaced (Google Maps).

471 Old Latham Rd., Latham, NY. It is unknown whether this is the original building or if it has just been heavily renovated (Google Maps, 2022). 

954 Central Ave., Albany, NY. Big Dom's was located on this plot of land, on the left side. A converted private home, it was demolished by the early 1990s 
(Google Maps, 2023).

1419 Broadway Schenectady, NY. The building has been demolished 
(Google Maps, 2024).

1790 Altamont Ave., Rotterdam, NY. The building has either been heavily renovated or demolished and replaced. The dimensions, however, appear similar 
(Google Maps, 2022).

1808 Western Ave., Westmere, NY. Big Dom's was the middle store (Google Maps, 2022). Previously, it was located in 1810 Western Ave. (storefront on right).

1875 Central Ave, Albany (Colonie) NY. This was also known as the Vly Rd. store as it stands near the intersection with that street (Google Maps, 2023). The building hasn't changed except for the paint job. This was also the location of my Uncle Jim Urso's business, "Jim's Take Out" in the early-mid-1990s.

Congress and Third St. Troy. Without a specific street number, I am unclear which building Big Dom's was located in, but I believe it may have been in the corner building on the right. Any former employees who worked there who recall please let me know! (Google Maps, 2022).

Westgate Plaza, 911 Central Ave., Albany, NY. Big Dom's occupied the storefront from the column on the far right to the fifth column on the left (Google Maps, 2018).

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Update Dec. 25, 2023: I finally got around to recreating the Big Dom’s logo on a-shirt via Custom Ink. Got it just in time for Christmas and it looks good!

Update Jan. 18, 2026: I found an article from the Albany Student Press, The State University at Albany, Dec. 8, 1970, with a humorous feature with an interview with a Walt's Sub delivery boy: Albany Student Press, 1970: Submarine Magnate Speaks.

Update May 9, 2026: A reader, William Koren, reached out and provided me with more information about an incident when Big Dom's brother, Lenny, who, while working security, shot a robber, ending a three-day robbery-streak at the same store. Little was known and even less remembered until Koren was able to fill in some important details: Shot by Guard — Albany Stickup Suspect Killed, 1980.  

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