The History of Domino's Pizza

Domino’s has a presence in 85 countries, so it’s not a stretch to say that it has earned its place among the most successful pizza chains ever. But do you know the history behind Domino’s? Brothers Tom and James Monaghan bought an old pizza restaurant in Ypsilanti, Michigan back in 1960. (Eight months after opening, James traded his half of the partnership for a VW beetle.) The restaurant was called DomiNick’s but was renamed Domino’s in 1965; the name was invented by delivery driver Jim Kennedy. By 1965, there were three Domino’s locations – in fact, the three dots on the Domino’s sign represent each of these stores. Originally, Tom had planned to add a dot for each new store, but later decided not to. In 2009, Domino’s responded to criticism by completely reinventing their pizza recipe. The revamp was successful, and Domino’s is still going strong today. Aside from their famous revamp, the chain is also known for various elaborate projects, including filling potholes in 2018 and helping the startup Flirtey design the first pizza delivery drone.