Domino’s first pizzas delivered in Beetle

Many successful companies trace their heritage to a small business that started as a passion project.

Surprisingly, some of these now-famous companies got their start with a Volkswagen as a key player in the early days.

Brothers Tom and James Monaghan founded Domino’s Pizza in 1960 when they bought a small pizzeria in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

The brothers purchased the store for only $900 and decided to keep the original name, DomiNick’s.

They were given a 15-minute lesson on how to make pizza by the owner, Dominick, before they opened the store for the first time.

During their first year, the brothers worked tirelessly making and delivering pizzas, with the help of a 1959 Volkswagen Beetle — the company’s original delivery vehicle.

Within a year, James, who had a full-time job as a postman, sold his share of the business in exchange for the VW Beetle.

By 1965 the remaining brother had purchased another two stores and wanted all to share the same branding, but the original owner wouldn’t let him use the DomiNick’s name.

An employee, Jim Kennedy, returned from a pizza delivery one day and suggested he name the franchise “Domino’s”.

Monaghan embraced the idea and officially renamed the business to Domino’s Pizza, Inc. in 1965.

The company logo originally had three dots which represented its three stores in 1965.

Monaghan planned to add a new dot with the addition of each new store, but this idea quickly proved unworkable as Domino’s experienced rapid growth.

In 1983, Domino’s opened its first international outlet in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

In 1998, after 38 years of ownership, Domino’s founder Tom Monaghan announced his retirement.

He sold 93 percent of the company to Bain Capital, Inc. for about $1 billion, and withdrew from the day-to-day operations of the company.

One of his passions is cars and for a time, his collection included one of the world’s six Bugatti Royales for which he paid $8.1 million in 1986 — he sold it for $8 million in 1991.

Monaghan and his wife, Marjorie Zybach, whom he met while delivering pizza, were married in 1962 and have four daughters: Margaret, Susan, Mary and Barbara.

The couple had four children, 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

In 2023, Marjorie died at the age 83 after a battle with Leukemia.

His Jim passed in October, 2020.

In August 2012, Domino’s Pizza changed its name to just Domino’s.

At the same time, it launched a new logo that removed the blue rectangle and text under the domino in the logo, and changed the formerly all-red domino to be blue on the side with two dots and red on the side with one dot.

Why? It was to reflect the fact the company wanted to “expand” its menu choices, rather than simply rely on traditional pizza.

In 2015, Domino’s unveiled a “pizza car” that could carry 80 pizzas, sides, 2.0-litre bottles of soft drink and dipping sauces.

It also has a 60 degree Celsius oven on board and is more fuel efficient than a standard delivery car.

Tayron replaces Allspace with more space

Officially named the Domino’s DXP, the car is a Chevrolet Spark customised by Roush Performance.

Once each car reached 100,000 miles, it was planned to retire the vehicles and return them to Roush, where they would be returned to stock form.

In 2016, Domino’s hooked up with Starship Technologies and employed self-driving robots to deliver pizzas in some German and Dutch cities.

Also, in 2016, Domino’s in New Zealand delivered the world’s first pizza by unmanned aerial vehicle using the DRU Drone by Flirety.

Then, in June 2018, Domino’s began repairing potholes in America as part of its “Paving for Pizza” initiative to prevent its pizzas from being damaged in transit.

In 2019, Domino’s announced a partnership with robotics company, Nuro, with a view to using Nuro’s custom, self-driving R2 to deliver pizzas in Houston, Texas.

As of 2022, Domino’s had more than 21,000 outlets worldwide, but none in the home of pizza, Italy, where it struggled to make its mark.

What happened to the old Beetle that helped the brothers achieve international success?

While the whereabouts of Domino’s first delivery vehicle is unknown, a replica is showcased at Domino’s headquarters, as a nod to the company’s roots and early days in delivery.