31 tasty facts you never knew about Domino's
07 November 2016
Fun facts about the world's favorite pizza place

Domino's Pizza Group Limited
Do you know why there are three dots on the Domino's logo? Or that you can get a pizza delivered by boat, drone or straight to you on the bus? Read on to find out interesting facts you never knew about your favorite pizza joint.
DomiNick’s to Domino’s

Domino's Pizza Group Limited
Brothers Tom and James Monaghan founded the first store in 1960 in the USA and called it DomiNick’s before Tom bought James’ share and changed the name to Domino’s.
Join the dots

Domino's Pizza Group Limited
The three dots on the logo represent the three stores Tom originally planned to open. Now there are about 11,000 stores in more than 73 countries.
A match made in pizza heaven

Pizza Tiger
Founder Tom Monaghan met his wife Margie (both pictured) on his first pizza delivery 14 months after getting into the business. The delivery was to a dormitory at Central Michigan University. After their second date, Monaghan gave Margie a heart-shaped pizza on Valentine’s Day and the rest is history.
Delivery ‘buoy’

Domino's Pizza Group Limited
Domino’s is trialling the first pizza delivery by canoe along the River Loose in the UK. The pizza ‘buoy’ will deliver to residents in Loose in a full wetsuit and accompanying buoyancy aid to ensure their pizza arrives safe and dry.
Pizza lovers

Domino's Pizza Group Limited
A pizza-loving couple from the UK received a unique wedding gift from their favorite pizza company – a selfie portrait on two 13-inch pizza bases, with the couple’s faces created entirely from traditional pizza toppings. The portraits took almost three hours to create.
Pepperoni’s the word

Domino's Pizza Group Limited
There wasn’t a word for pepperoni in the Japanese language when the first store was opened in 1985. Now pepperoni is one of the most embraced toppings in Japan.
Ain’t no mountain high enough

LUIS ROBAYO / Stringer / AFP
Quito in Ecuador is the highest elevated city where pizzas are delivered. It is home to one million people located 8,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains.
Training troubles

Domino's Pizza Group Limited
The buildings in Japan aren’t numbered sequentially but by the order they were built so training Domino’s drivers is interesting to say the least.
Pizza cocktail

Domino's Pizza Group Limited
Domino’s and London Cocktail Club joined forces in 2014 and turned the UK’s favourite pepperoni passion pizza into a cocktail. The cocktail was made from vodka infused with pepperoni sausage which was blended with Domino’s secret recipe tomato sauce and passionfruit puree to give the concoction a sweet twist. The cocktail was topped with a pepperoni, mozzarella and basil garnish.
Nameless streets

Mike Coppola / Staff / Getty images Entertainment
In the Virgin Islands there are no street names so Domino’s drivers have to use landmarks for directions.
Scooters not allowed

WILLIAM WEST / Staff / AFP
In the Netherlands delivery scooters aren’t allowed on the roads and instead drivers use designated bike routes which are often quicker to travel.
The Simpsons

Frederick M. Brown / Stringer / Getty Images Entertainment
Domino’s sponsors TV show The Simpsons. The longest-running deal has been a huge success for both brands.
Prosperous Philippines

focal point / Shutterstock.com
Store locations in the Philippines are based on Feng Shui, the belief that businesses prosper with particular building design attributes and placement of equipment inside.
That’s a lot of pizza

ChameleonsEye / Shutterstock.com
In its first 16 days of opening, the first Jamaican Domino’s store sold 6,000 pizzas with the favorite topping being pineapple.
Delivered by drone

Domino's Pizza Group Limited
Pizza lovers can now have their favorite menu item delivered by drone after Domino’s partnered with drone delivery company Flirtey to launch the first commercial delivery service of its type in the world. The first pizza delivered by drone was in Auckland, New Zealand in August 2016.
Prayer break

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Domino’s employees in Saudi Arabia work around four prayer breaks each day. Prayers last from 12 to 45 minutes. All businesses close during prayer time.
Windy business

Kevork Djansezian / Staff / Getty Images News
Franchisees in Aruba originally bought motorcycles for Domino’s delivery drivers but were forced to switch to small trucks due to strong winds.
World record

Domino's Pizza Group Limited
The first store in Iceland opened in 1993 and set a world record by selling more than 5,000 pizzas in the first week. At least one of Iceland's 13 stores has been on Domino’s top 10 best-selling stores list in the last four years.
Dominoids

Joe Raedle / Staff / Getty Images News
The best Domino’s employees are known as Dominoids. The term dates back to 1986 when Tom Monaghan described the pizza making process as a game and that those who had a knack for it (Dominoids) had pizza sauce in their veins.
Female franchisees

Joe Raedle / Staff / Getty Images News
The first female franchisee outside of the USA was Suyapa Amaya who opened a store in San Pedro Sula, Honduras in 1987.
Pizza trade

WILLIAM WEST / AFP / Getty Images
In 2005 Domino’s became the first pizza company to list on the Australian Stock Exchange. At the time there were 375 stores in the country and they sold more than 700,000 pizzas a week to over 5% of Australian households.
Child’s play

YOSHIKAZU TSUNO / AFP / Getty Images
In Tokyo Domino’s delivery staff drive a one-seater electric car named 'Qi' produced by Japanese toy maker Takara. The compact electric Qi enables a user to drive 37 miles (60km) on 45 minutes' charge with a maximum speed of 35mph (50kph).
Nutritional value

Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
Several pizza chains including Domino’s in California fought against a proposal to display nutritional information of products on in-store menu boards. The proposed menu labeling plan would require franchisees to update and pay for in-store menu boards. The argument against the proposal was that the majority of customers order over the phone or online.
Worldwide domination

Sunday Alamba AP/Press Association Images
Domino's is the second-largest pizza chain in the United States and the largest worldwide with more than 260,000 employees globally.
Closed for business

RAUL ARBOLEDA / Stringer / AFP
In February 2015 cockroaches and rodent droppings were found in the kitchens of some Domino's store in Peru, which caused the company to shut there for more than a year.
What drink would you like?

ERIC PIERMONT / Staff / AFP
Domino’s is the only ‘big four’ pizza chain that serves Coca-Cola products. Rivals Papa John's Pizza and Little Caesars sold Coca-Cola in the past, but both switched to Pepsi. Pizza Hut used to be owned by PepsiCo and has a lifetime contract to sell Pepsi products. Domino's in Mexico, Malaysia, Pakistan, Spain, New Zealand and Taiwan are the exception and sell Pepsi.
MyCar, your pizza

Rogelio V. Solis AP/Press Association Images
Electric delivery cars are used in America with former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, pictured left, and GreenTech Automotive chairman Terry McAuliffe unveiling the new electric MyCar in 2012. The electric car manufacturing company worked out a deal with Domino's franchises for a number of vehicles.
30 minute guarantee

PHILIPPE HUGUEN / Staff / AFP
In 1973 the company introduced its famous delivery guarantee that customers would get their pizza within half an hour of ordering or they’d receive it for free. The guarantee was reduced to $3 off in the mid-1980s. The company continues to offer the 30-minute guarantee for orders placed in its stores in Colombia, India, Vietnam, Mexico and Turkey.
Fast food fail

Jonathan Brady PA Archive/PA Images
The traditional delivery-based system failed in China because of poor traffic conditions. Overall the typical Domino’s business model isn’t popular in China because the large pizza sizes prevent people from using knives and forks to eat them, which they generally would have done. Takeout services are also unpopular with Chinese people for cultural reasons and therefore small eat-in style restaurants were introduced in 2014.
Curb your hunger

Domino's Pizza Group Limited
In June 2016, Domino’s in the UK started delivering to bus stops on the Catch 22 route from Mereside to Cleveley in Blackpool. The campaign launched off the back of a delivery to a hungry passenger on board a train.
Robots deliver

Domino's Australia
Pizza delivery now replicates something we'd see in the Jetsons with the invention of the world's first autonomous pizza delivering robot. In March 2016 Domino's Australia unveiled the DRU (Domino's Robotic Unit), a commercial autonomous delivery vehicle built in partnership with Australian technology company Marathon Robotics. The DRU is essentially a $23,000 (£18,550) military-grade robot capable of reaching about 12 miles per hour that's been refitted for pizza delivery.
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