When Was Dominos Founded? What the Founding Date Actually Means

When was Dominos founded? Domino's was founded in 1960 in Ypsilanti, Michigan, by Tom Monaghan. The single store originally opened under the name DomiNick's Pizza Store, before it later became known as Domino's.

Tom Monaghan bought a single pizza store called DomiNick's in Ypsilanti, Michigan in 1960. That one store, small and unremarkable at the time, is where the entire company traces back to.

In practice, most people searching for when Domino's was founded want a quick answer, not a full corporate biography, so here it is stated plainly: 1960, Ypsilanti, Michigan.

When Was Dominos Founded: Quick Facts

Who Founded Domino's

According to Wikipedia, the store was renamed Domino's Pizza in 1965, once Monaghan became its sole owner.

Data from Statista shows Domino's has since grown into one of the largest pizza chains in the world by store count, a scale that traces directly back to that single 1960 store and its founder.

Tom Monaghan is credited as the founder of Domino's. What's often overlooked is that the store didn't start out as "Domino's" at all. It opened as DomiNick's, a name tied to the store Monaghan purchased rather than one he invented from scratch.

The exact ownership details of that original purchase, such as financing terms or any additional early business partners, are not publicly detailed in the sources reviewed here, so no assumption is made about them.

When Was Dominos Founded, and Where

At first glance, buying one pizza store in a college town doesn't sound like the start of a global chain.

But that's basically what happened. Ypsilanti, Michigan, home to Eastern Michigan University, became the starting point in 1960 when Monaghan took over the DomiNick's location.

The name change to Domino's came later, once the business began operating under its own identity separate from the original store it had been.

Teams researching brand origins commonly report the same pattern with companies like Domino's: an early acquisition of an existing small business, followed by a rebrand once the new owner establishes their own direction.

That's roughly what happened here, even though the exact date of the name change to "Domino's" isn't specified in the sources available.

Domino's Timeline of Key Milestones

In practice, this kind of long build-out, from one storefront to thousands of locations across multiple decades, tends to happen in stages rather than one dramatic leap.

Is Domino's Still Owned By Its Founder

No. Tom Monaghan sold his ownership stake in 1998, stepping back from the company to pursue other interests.

Bain Capital took over ownership at that point, and by 2004, Domino's Pizza Inc. had become a publicly traded company, first listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DPZ before the listing moved to the Nasdaq Global Select Market at the start of 2025.

So while Monaghan's name is tied to the founding, he hasn't owned the company for decades now.

Conclusion

Domino's was founded in 1960 in Ypsilanti, Michigan, by Tom Monaghan, originally under the name DomiNick's. Ownership changed hands in 1998, and the company has been publicly traded since 2004.

Frequently Asked Questions

When Was Domino's Founded?

Domino's was founded in 1960, when Tom Monaghan purchased a single pizza store in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Who founded Domino's?

Tom Monaghan is credited as the founder, having purchased the original store that later became Domino's.

What was Domino's original name?

The store originally operated under the name DomiNick's before it became known as Domino's.

Where was the first Domino's store located?

The first store was located in Ypsilanti, Michigan, a small city near Eastern Michigan University.

Is Domino's still owned by its founder?

No. Tom Monaghan sold ownership in 1998, and Domino's has been a publicly traded company since 2004.