What year did the first Domino’s Pizza store open? It opened in 1960.
Domino’s began on December 9, 1960, when brothers Tom and James Monaghan took over a small pizzeria in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The store was called DomiNick’s, not Domino’s, so the company’s founding date predates the adoption of the famous brand name.
The brothers reportedly borrowed $900 to purchase the business. James soon left the partnership, trading his share to Tom for a Volkswagen Beetle that had been used for deliveries. Tom expanded the operation, acquiring additional locations and seeking a common identity for them.
The name Domino’s Pizza was adopted in 1965 after the original owner declined to let Monaghan continue using “DomiNick’s” for new stores. This creates a common source of confusion: 1960 marks the opening of the original store and the company’s beginning, while 1965 marks the renaming. Domino’s opened its first franchised store in 1967 and its first international locations in Canada and Australia in 1983.