Domino's Pizza franchisee, Lane Helvie (right), cuts the ribbon to open Domino's 8,000th worldwide store in Huntley, IL, while David A. Brandon, Domino's Chairman/CEO, cheers him on

Domino's Pizza Delivers 8,000th Store

Domino's has opened an average of 240 stores annually in the past five years

Domino's Pizza, the recognized world leader in pizza delivery, today celebrates the opening of its 8,000th store worldwide with the simultaneous grand opening celebrations of the Company's 5,000th U.S. store and its 3,000th international unit. Both stores will carry the symbolic designation of Domino's 8,000th store.

A franchise store in the small town of Huntley, Illinois (operated by franchisee Lane Helvie), 55 miles outside of Chicago, is the designated 5,000th Domino's Pizza store in the United States, and will play host today to an event featuring Domino's Chairman and CEO David A. Brandon, an $8,000 contribution to the Huntley Police Officers Benevolent Association, and of course, free pizza.

"Since joining Domino's Pizza in 1999, I have had the pleasure of celebrating many milestone store openings in countries around the world, as well as the opening of our global brand's 7,000th and now 8,000th store," said Mr. Brandon. "Events like this give us an opportunity to pause and reflect on the great work of our franchise owner-operators, store managers and team members in more than 50 countries. Each night, they go to work, safely delivering hot, fresh pizza to millions of families the world over. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to 'clip the ribbon' on our system's 9,000th and 10,000th store in the future."

Domino's Pizza, which celebrated its 45th anniversary in December 2005, opened its 5,000th unit worldwide in 1989 and its 6,000th store in 1997. The company's founder, Thomas Monaghan, sold the company in late 1998. Since 1999, under the leadership of Mr. Brandon, store growth has accelerated, and Domino's Pizza has opened an average of 240 stores annually in the past five years.

"Pizza is loved throughout the world," Mr. Brandon said. "One of the great attributes of pizza is its flexibility -- while the core of dough, sauce and cheese are the same, toppings can be adapted to local market tastes. It's a great value for those times when you want to 'indulge' and when you are feeding a lot of people. Adding Domino's expertise in delivery is one of our key differentiators -- one of those things that adds to our success on a global scale. From small towns like Huntley, to a thriving urban center like Panama City, Domino's Pizza delivers everywhere."

Founded in 1960, Domino's Pizza is the recognized world leader in pizza delivery.  Through its primarily franchised system, Domino's operates a network of more than 8,000 franchised and Company-owned stores in the United States and more than 50 countries. The Domino's Pizza brand, named a Megabrand by Advertising Age magazine, had global retail sales of more than $4.6 billion in 2004, comprised of nearly $3.2 billion domestically and more than $1.4 billion internationally. Full year sales and earnings for 2005 will be released in February 2006, as well as year-ending store counts. Domino's Pizza is the "Official Pizza of NASCAR." For more information, visit http://www.dominos.com/