50% Of Domino’s Pizza Was Once Traded For An Used Volkswagen Beetle

Everyday we learn something new about the businesses that run the world’s engine. From companies associated with the Nazis to companies that sold sea-shells and later became one of the world’s largest oil companies. Today lets talk about the beginnings of Domino’s Pizza, the second largest pizza chain in the United States.

In 1960, brothers Tom and James Monaghan bought DomiNick’s, a small pizza place in Ypsilanti, Michigan. They gave a $75 down payment and borrowed $900 to pay for the store. After 8 months, James traded his half of the business to Tom for an used Volkswagen Beetle. Tom then changed the name of the pizza place to Domino’s Pizza, Inc in 1965.

Extra Trivia: 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 3 dots represent the stores that were open at the time in 1969. By 1978, the franchise opened its 200th store.

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