Libertyville businessman knew his customers

He was the outgoing and outspoken native New Yorker who found a niche in Libertyville as the shopkeeper you couldn't forget.

Beginning in the late 1970s, Dominick Lentini, with his wife, Mary, ran Some Other Nuts, a throwback variety store that carried an unlikely assortment of items.

He died Sunday at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville at the age of 80.

An after-school ritual for many kids, residents of all ages navigated the narrow aisles of the store on Milwaukee Avenue in the middle of what became MainStreet Libertyville.

"He sort of epitomized the local owner, the small-town proprietor," said M.J. Seiler, a local real estate broker who knew Lentini for more than 20 years. "You went in the store, he knew who you were and what you liked."

Lentini would jokingly complain that he couldn't get the grocery shopping done in a timely manner because of all the customers who would stop him along the way.

"He knew everybody and everybody knew him," recalled his son, Phil.

"He loved the coffee shop, he loved to be back there ... and just share stories about Libertyville and the neighborhood."

A graduate of New York University, Lentini joined the U.S. Army and was an auditor stationed at Fort Sheridan. He later received an MBA from DePaul University and taught business in high school and junior college.

He met Mary, an elementary schoolteacher in Chicago, at a USO dance. The pair settled in Norridge but eventually began to look for other opportunities.

That led the couple, then in their early 50s, to make a career change. They saw an ad for a storefront in Libertyville and opened Some Other Nuts, which outgrew its original location, moved down the street and continued to expand.

The wisecracking New Yorker never lost his accent and though he was responsible for doing the books, he usually was in the shop chatting up customers.

Downtown Libertyville was a shadow of its current state when the Lentinis arrived, and Dominick became heavily involved in the area as a constant and distinct voice for improvements.

"He really wanted downtown to be something special," said Phil Lentini. "He didn't like to mess around. He wanted to get things done."

He became a board member of MainStreet Libertyville and was a vocal member of the village's economic development commission.

"He got involved in things. He didn't just sit around and hope and wish something would happen," Seiler said.

MainStreet Director Pam Hume said Lentini was a staunch MainStreet supporter who never hesitated to offer assistance.

"I think he always had the downtown at heart," Hume said. She described Some Other Nuts as "an old-fashioned gathering place."

The couple closed the store in 2005, but not for a lack of business.

Besides his wife, Lentini is survived by four children, Nanciann (the late Mark) Huening of Park Ridge, Philip Lentini of Libertyville, Annalee (Robert) Oakley of Chicago and Meriann (John) Negovetich of Lakemoor; four grandchildren; and his brother, Robert (Betty) Lentini.

Services will begin at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at the Burnett-Dane Funeral Home, 120 W. Park Ave., Libertyville. A funeral mass will be held at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph church.

Visitation is from 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.

Instead of flowers, contributions can be made to MainStreet Libertyville, 133 E. Cook Ave., Libertyville.