Frank Capone, who spent some of his 30 years at Dominick’s Finer Foods as a buyer of imported produce in Nogales, Ariz., has died.
Capone died Sept. 11. He was 85.
Born in Chicago, he worked at the South Water Market and worked for La Mantia Bros. Arrigo Co. until 1959, according to his obituary.
That same year, he joined Dominick’s Finer Foods, training under Mike Giunta as a produce buyer. Capone traveled to different growing areas to learn about produce, and visited Nogales to learn about the import deal, according to the obit. He and his wife Angela Corso moved to Green Valley, Ariz., in 1964.
They later returned to Chicago, where he was the first vice presidents of produce operations for Dominick’s.
Accomplishments include organizing a buying team of more than six buyers, and starting a marketing campaign to promote items at aggressive prices. He added a floral shop as a produce partner in 1975 in Park Ridge, Ill., according to the obituary, and added a salad bar in 1980 to an Evanston, Ill., store.
“He brought the meaning of the word respect to another level,” according to the obituary. “Frank’s motto was ‘To have the freshest produce in Chicagoland with the most variety, with hundreds of specialty produce items at very competitive prices,’” according to the obituary.
In 2005 he returned to Green Valley, and he briefly worked for Ciruli Bros., Nogales.
