Kitchen Closed, Hello Domino’s!

Dinner Tonight: Domino's Pizza

It's been one cold and rainy day around here all day. Avoided any snow flurries, at least so far. But the rains are good for the farmers and their upcoming growing season. Spent part of the day trying to correct some posting issues here on -line and then the other half at rehab with Dad. Still not posting like it should but I'm able to get posts out now. Long day so the Kitchen has been shutdown and it' Hello Domino's!

 Pizzas has a bit more carbs and calories than I usually have but one every now and then when it's been a long day doesn't hurt too bad. As usual when we order a Pizza, we order Domino's Pizza. Tonight I ordered a Hand – Tossed medium Pizza with Cheese, Black Olives, Mushrooms, Sausage, and Pepperoni. Mom and myself took care of half of it and gave the other half to one of our neighbors. First time I've had one of these Pizzas in a while and have to be honest it was incredible! Served hot with all of our favorite toppings. Great job by Domino's! For dessert later a Jello Sugarless Double Chocolate Pudding topped with Cool Whip Free.

All About Domino’s!



Tom Monaghan and his brother, James, purchased DomiNick’s, a small pizza store in Ypsilanti, Michigan, near Eastern Michigan University. The deal was secured by a $75 down payment and the brothers borrowed $500 to pay for the store. Eight months later, James traded his half of the business to Tom for a used Volkswagen Beetle. In 1965, Monaghan renamed the business Domino’s Pizza, Inc. In 1967, the first Domino’s Pizza franchise store opened in Ypsilanti. The company logo was originally planned to add a new dot with the addition of every new store, but this idea quickly faded as Domino’s experienced rapid growth. The three dots represent the stores that were open in 1969. Reflecting Domino’s growth, the company had expanded to 200 stores by 1978. In 1975, Domino’s faced a lawsuit by Amstar Corporation, the maker of Domino Sugar, alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition. On May 2, 1980, a federal appeals court found in favor of Domino’s Pizza.



The current Domino’s menu features a variety of Italian-American entrees and side dishes. Pizza is the primary focus, with traditional, specialty, and custom pizzas available in a variety of crust styles and toppings. In 2011, Domino’s launched artisan-style pizzas. Additional entrees include pasta, bread bowls, and oven-baked sandwiches. The menu offers chicken side dishes, breadsticks, as well as beverages and desserts.



From its founding until the early 1990s, the menu at Domino’s Pizza was kept simple relative to other fast food restaurants, to ensure efficiency of delivery. Historically, Domino’s menu consisted solely of one pizza in two sizes (12-inch and 16-inch), 11 toppings, and Coca-Cola as the only soft drink option.



The first menu expansion occurred in 1989, with the debut of Domino’s deep dish or pan pizza. Its introduction followed market research showing that 40% of pizza customers preferred thick crusts. The new product launch cost approximately $25 million, of which $15 million was spent on new sheet metal pans with perforated bottoms. Domino’s started testing extra-large size pizzas in early 1993, starting with the 30-slice, yard-long “The Dominator”.
Domino’s tapped into a market trend toward bite-size foods with spicy Buffalo Chicken Kickers, as an alternative to Buffalo Wings, in August 2002. The breaded, baked, white-meat fillets, similar to chicken fingers, are packaged in a custom-designed box with two types of sauce to “heat up” and “cool down” the chicken.



In August 2003, Domino’s announced its first new pizza since January 2000, the Philly Cheese Steak Pizza. The product launch also marked the beginning of a partnership with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, whose beef Check-Off logo appeared in related advertising. Domino’s continued its move toward specialty pizzas in 2006, with the introduction of its Brooklyn Style Pizza, featuring a thinner crust, cornmeal baked in to add crispness, and larger slices that could be folded in the style of traditional New York-style pizza.

In 2008, Domino’s once again branched out into non-pizza fare, offering oven-baked sandwiches in four styles, intended to compete with Subway’s toasted submarine sandwiches. Early marketing for the sandwiches made varied references to its competition, such as offering free sandwiches to customers named “Jared,” a reference to Subway’s spokesman of the same name.
The company introduced its American Legends line of specialty pizzas in 2009, featuring 40% more cheese than the company’s regular pizzas, along with a greater variety of toppings. That same year, Domino’s began selling its BreadBowl Pasta entree, a lightly seasoned bread bowl baked with pasta inside, and the Lava Crunch Cake dessert, composed of a crunchy chocolate shell filled with warm fudge. Domino’s promoted the dessert by flying in 1,000 cakes to deliver at Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center near Mount St Helens in Washington State.


In 2010, shortly after the company’s 50th anniversary, Domino’s changed its pizza recipe “from the crust up”, making significant changes in the dough, sauce, and cheese used in their pizzas. Their advertising campaign admitted to earlier problems with the public perception of Domino’s product due to taste issues.
After a stock low point in late 2009, the company’s stock had grown 233 percent by late 2011. Even as the American economy has suffered and unemployment has risen, Domino’s has seen its sales rise dramatically through its efforts to rebrand and retool its pizza.



Domino’s serves Coca-Cola products and is the only “Big Four” pizza chain to do so. Rivals Papa John’s Pizza and Little Caesars sold Coca-Cola in the past (Pizza Hut, due to its previous ownership by PepsiCo, has a lifetime contract to sell Pepsi products), but both switched to Pepsi in 2012 and 2007, respectively. Domino’s Pizza in Mexico switched to Pepsi in November 2012.
In September 2012, Domino’s announced it was going to roll out a pan pizza on September 24, 2012. Following this move, the Deep Dish pizza was discontinued after 23 years of being on the menu.