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Whenever you think about ordering pizza, what names come to mind? I would be willing to say that in that list Domino's Pizza would be near the top. Domino's Pizza is proof that the American dream is alive and well. It started as the idea of two brothers, and became a household name.

Founded in 1960 by Tom and James Monaghan, Domino's began as a small pizzeria in Ypsilanti, Michigan as Dominick's pizza. They started with a $75.00 down payment and borrowed the $500 dollars to buy the store. Before the first year was over, James would quit the business, and trade his share to Tom for a Volkswagen Beetle.

Tom continued the business and changed the name to Domino's pizza. Through the years, it would be presented with many challenges and obstacles including a fire that destroyed the headquarters in 1968 and a trademark-infringement lawsuit be Amstar, the owner of Domino sugar. The company would overcome all these things and continue to expand. In 1978, they would celebrate the opening of their 200th franchise.

The 1980's would see the Domino's empire grow and divide into other entities, until by 2006 it would have 8,238 stores and in that year produce 1.4 billion in gross revenue. Tom Monaghan would retire in 1998 and sell the business for 1 billion dollars, but would retain a 27 percent non-controlling interest in the company.

Domino's is so widely known, that it has even become a part of our pop culture. In the United Kingdom, Domino's has been the sponsor of many episodes of the Simpson's since 1998, and in 2006 it started producing menu items based on the show such as " Homers Hot Stuff" pizza. Domino's logo has been featured on several episodes, such as when a cop car was disguised as a pizza delivery vehicle with the Domino's logo. Domino's has sponsored many TV shows as well such as: NFL Live, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and has even been a sponsor on the Nascar circuit, and featured in the movie "Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby".

In a strange event during the companies history, Domino's advertising group, Group 243, Inc. developed a advertising campaign surrounding the slogan "avoid the noid". In 1989, a man named Kenneth Lamar Noid felt that he was being picked on and that the slogan was meant to be an attack on him. He entered a Domino's Pizza Restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia and held the employees hostage for over five hours. He finally surrendered to police, but not until he forced the employees to make him a pizza.

Domino's is now an International company with Headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 2004 the pizza giant would go public for just under $15 per share. One of the factors that made Domino's such a success was its guarantee of thirty minutes or less deleivery. Domino's continues to be a leader in the pizza delivery business and shows no signs of slowing down. So go ahead and answer the door. It could be Domino's.

Learn more about this author, C. A. Pruit.
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