MAIN Pop Culture Fast Food Domino's

With pizza traditonally taking the No. 1 spot as one of the nation's - if not the world's - most favorite foods, Domino's Pizza continues to corner the hot, hot pizza market across the planet.

From its humble beginnings in 1960 as a local pizzeria in Ypsilanti, Michigan the giant fast food chain has grown over the decades to employ 145,000 people in more than 8,000 franchised and company-owned stores worldwide.

Dominos history

It was in 1960 when Tom Monaghan and brother James bought a local pizzeria “DomiNick’s” in their hometown of Ypsilanti, Michigan. The following year, Tom gave James a used Volkswagon Beetle to buy out his share of the company, and renamed it "Domino's". And the rest, as they say, is pizza history.

By 1967, Domino's had its first pizza franchise store in Ypsilanti, and a decade later the brand had grown to include 200 locations throughout Michigan.

In the 80's, Domino's traveled north into Canada, with additional stops in Europe to open its milestone 1,000th international location in 1995.

All the while, their now-famous money-back guarantee of delivery within 30 minutes enticed consumers to order by phone nationwide.

However, the shrewd marketing move was soon spawning fictional parodies of outlandish lengths Domino's might go to order hot, fresh pizza to beat their self-imposed deadline. As it happened, reports of real-life scenarios of reckless practices by Domino's delivery truck drivers finally put an end to the "30 minutes or it's free" campaign in 1993.

Domino's made marketing history in 2009 when it launched a campaign that
directly responded to customer's complaints on social media.

While the pizza maker never admitted any wrong doing, Domino's owner Tom Monaghan finally put an end to the guarantee in an attempt, he said, to fight a "public perception of reckless driving and irresponsibility."

By 1998, Monaghan sold a hefty portion of the company to a private equity firm, and announced his retirement. Several years later, Domino's began trading common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "DPZ" as a publicly traded company.

Today, Domino's continues to dominate the pizza delivery business with such innovations as Deep Dish Pizza, Cheesy Bread and breasticks with their traditional promise of a hot product, served fast. Named "Chain of the Year" in 2003 by Pizza Today magazine, that same year Domino's also helped endear itself to millions of race car fans with a multi-year contract as "The Official Pizza of NASCAR".

Domino's Fun Facts

• In the US alone, Domino's drivers put the pedal to the metal to travel 9 million delivery miles per week.
  
  

• Super Bowl Sunday is typically Domino’s busiest day of the year, with over 1 million pizzas delivered nationwide on game day — a third more than a typical Sunday.
  
  

• Domino’s opened its 5,000th store in the U.S. on January 26, 2006 in Huntley, Ill. Simultaneously, Domino’s 3,000th international store (and 8,000th worldwide) opened in Panama City, Panama.
  
  

• In 2008, Domino's awarded the title of "World's Fastest Pizza Maker" to Dennis Tran of Gaithersberg, Maryland when he made three one-topping large pizzas in an impressive 46.4 seconds.

Domino's Menu

Crunchy Thin Crust Pizza - Medium 12 inches, Large 14 inches
Classic Hand Tossed Pizza - Medium 12 inches, Large 14 inches
Ultimate Deep Dish Pizza - Medium 12 inches, Large 14 inches
Extravaganzza, Deluxe Feast, Vegi Feast, Americas Favorite Feast, Hawaiian Feast, Meatzza Feast, Pepperoni Feast, Bacon Cheeseburger Feast, Barbeque Feast

Domino's Toppings

Fresh mushrooms, ham, Italian sausage, beef, onions, pepperoni, pineapple, black olives, green peppers, bacon

Domino's Side Menu

Cheesy Bread, breadsticks, hot wings, Cinnastix

Domino's Beverages

Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite

More about Domino's around the Web:

Dominos.com - The official site, with information on current deals and specials, menu and nutrition information, store locator, printable discount coupons, online ordering and interactive order tracker.

Domino's Pizza - Wikipedia - The complete company history from its early beginnings to international expansion including overview of franchises and ad campaigns, with related photos, references and resources.

Domino's Pizza Company Information - A main portal for company background and job descriptions, top cities to find employment , community discussions and archived news.

Domino's Pizza Coupon Codes - Active coupons for current deals and specials with online codes rated and reviewed.

Domino's Pizza Franchise Review - About.com guide with information on business opportunities with the pizza giant including pros and cons, franchise startup costs.

also see in Fast Food ->