How much Domino’s pizza can you eat? Today we are going to do a deep dive into the history of this iconic pizza chain. We are going to cover where they got their start and where they are at today.



How Much Domino’s Pizza Can you Eat: Humble Beginnings



Domino’s Pizza, Inc. got its start in 1960 when two brothers, Tom and James Monaghan, purchased a local pizza joint called, DomiNick’s. Back in 1960, all they needed was a $500 downpayment and they were in business. They borrowed $900 to complete payment for the store. 



Tom threw himself into the business working long hours. James was very content to keep his job as a postal worker and sold his half of the business to Tom for their Volkswagen Beetle they were using to make deliveries. 



By 1965 Tom had purchased two more pizza shops. Tom really wanted have all three of his locations have the same name and branding. However, the previous owner of DomiNick’s would not allow Tom to use the DomiNick’s name on these other locations. 



One day an employee, Jim Kennedy, came back from a pizza delivery and pitched an idea to Tom. They should call the pizza business Domino’s. Tom loved the idea and in 1965 officially renamed his fledgling pizza empire, Domino’s Pizza, Inc. 



DomiNick’s Is Out, Domino’s Is In



Originally the company logo had three dots, one dot for each location. Tom wanted to add a dot to the logo for each location they would add. He quickly abandoned that idea because of the rapid growth they began to experience as a company.



In 1967, they began franchising their pizza concept. By 1978 Tom had expanded to over 200 locations. 



In 1975, the Amstar Corporation took Domino’s to court over a trademark dispute. Amstar was the maker of Domino sugar and they felt that Domino’s was infringing on their trademarked name. A judge disagreed and awarded Domino’s Pizza the victory. 



Tom Monaghan decided to retire from the business in 1998 after 38 years of owning the business. He sold 93% of the company to Bain Capital, Inc. for 1 billion dollars. It’s incredible to me that he was able to turn that $500 downpayment into a billion dollars. 



In 2012, Domino’s Pizza, Inc. changed their name to just Domino’s. They also changed up their logo by dropping the “Domino’s Pizza” from the name and logo. They wanted to make it clear to the world that Domino’s was more than just pizza. 



All About The Food



Growing up, Domino’s was my least favorite pizza of the popular chains. I felt it tasted a lot like cardboard that had sauce and cheese on top. I can’t blame Domino’s for sticking with what worked. 



In the early years, Domino’s had a very simple menu compared to other pizza places. They had one style of crust that came in two sizes, a 12-inch and a 16-inch, as well as 11 toppings. 



In 1989, Domino’s deviated from their simple menu by adding the deep dish pizza. This launch cost the company $25 million. $15 million of that was purchasing the new pans needed to bake the pizza. 



The early 2000s Domino’s went on a roll with a variety of new menu items. January 2000 brought the Philly cheesesteak specialty pizza. In 2006, they launched one of my personal favorites, the Brooklyn style crust. It was a thinner crust with larger slices you can fold. 



In 2008, Domino’s launched their first non-pizza item, the toasty oven-baked sandwich. Overnight they became one of the world’s largest sandwich delivery restaurants.