After nearly 60 years of serving Racine, Dino's Restaurant will close its doors at the close of business on Sunday.



Dino Dominici opened the restaurant at the corner of 16th Street and Phillips Avenue in 1955. Now 82, he said it feels terrible to see his life's work closing.



"I've been here for 58 years, paying the bills and now the bank doesn't want to work with us," he said. "We're doing good business and we have good customers."



Dominici said the trouble began over two years ago when he had to have open heart surgery and couldn't keep up with the payments. When he was on the mend, the family tried to get the bank - Tri-City National Bank - to work with them, but the family couldn't meet the cash requirement.



Dave Ferderer, Dominici's grandson, told Patch Monday that the business is going through foreclosure despite an agreement that the bank would own the building and the restaurant would lease. Then, he said, he got a call from the family's lawyer saying the deal was a bust and foreclosure proceedings would commence.



"We started going through this two years ago, trying to get them to work with us, but they just wouldn't," he said. "For some reason, they'd rather see an empty building than give a local business another chance."



Calls to the bank's Racine attorney have not yet been returned.



Racine Mayor John Dickert said he's sorry to see the iconic restaurant close.



"I spent a lot of time there growing up," he said. "They have great food, they're a great family, and I'm sad to see such a great place close."



To keep Dino's open, someone would need to pony up about $150,000 as an investor, and then the family would lease the space. He said there might be two potential parties interested, but the timeline now is so tight he's doubtful it could happen.



Dominici's daughter - and Dave's mom - Rosalie Ferderer said several times during an interview with Patch Monday that she can't believe the restaurant is closing after all these years.



"I just can't talk about it," she said, wiping tears. "I worry about what will happen to our employees and the shut-ins who rely on us for food. It feels like my heart is being ripped out."



Dominici shrugged and agreed.



"This feels terrible," he said.



The kicker, as Dave puts it, is that after years of slower traffic, the last two months have been a return to packed weekends and the phone ringing off the hook.



"We've had our best two months in four years even with the summer weekend events in town," he said.



According to Dave, the family retains ownership of the parking lot adjacent to the restaurant and they might donate the land to a non-profit group to do whatever they want with it.



For Dave, the hardest part of closing is thinking about where his employees will go.



"My chef has been here for 30 years, I see him every day," he continued. "And other employees, too. We have good days and bad days when we argue and when we're happy, just like a family."



Chris Myhre, an assistant manager, has been with the restaurant for 16 years. When Patch spoke to her Monday, her voice waivered and cracked occasionally during our conversation.



"We found out last week," she said, referring to when Ferderer broke the news. "And it hurts, to be honest. This is more than a job. I've worked here for 16 years, and this is my family."



As for what happens to the restaurant's assets, anything with the Dino's name and logo stays with the family. Everything else will be sold during an on-site auction Aug. 8 through Badger Auctions.



Dino's will remain open through the end of business on Sunday, and Dave said that means until the last person in the dining room is served and/or the last phone order is filled.



"There won't be any changes in the menu or service this week," he promised. "We're doing our best to keep all of our items available until our last customers are served Sunday."



On Monday, any leftovers will be available on a "take and bake" basis and anything leftover at the end of the day will be donated.

