Domino’s
Lean Cuisine
Published: 12/16/2020
By: Brennen Waldron
The year is 2020, and just about every industry has had to rethink how they do what they do. From food to construction to retail to technology, business owners are making changes to their normal routine to stay afloat today. For example, some in the restaurant industry have shifted, seemingly overnight, into "ghost kitchens" or delivery-only restaurants. With food delivery becoming the norm for most families, ghost kitchens will soon become the norm. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the ghost kitchen concept has grown by 20% and includes brand new restauranteurs. A delivery-only restaurant does not need to be in a flashy location, have adequate parking, or excellent wait staff. Instead, a ghost kitchen makes your food as soon as your grubby little finger completes your DoorDash order. This concept sounds very 2020 and innovative for the time, but these kitchens have existed for decades, in your neighborhood, usually in the form of a tasty pizza joint that you most likely have never stepped foot into.
Tom Monaghan, one of America's richest men and Doctor of Pizzerology. In 1960, Tom Monaghan and his brother purchased DomiNick's pizza for $500. Soon renaming it Dominos, Tom quickly took the pizza industry by the dough. Overworked and severally in debt, Monaghan decided to scrap the traditional pizza dine-in model as it was just bleeding money. His first decision was to close the dining room and go to delivery only. It relieved him of the over-processing that is dine-in costumers, allowed for his team to focus on making pizza even faster. This concept was largely unheard of across the food industry but soon became a hit with Dominos. Another change he made early on was to reduce the menu down to just favorite toppings and three standard sizes, as opposed to the traditional five sizes. Tom found reducing his inventory allowed for his restaurants to become more economical.
Throughout his ownership, Dominos became the leading innovator of the pizza pie. He believed locating his Domino's locations closer to college campuses, and large apartment buildings reduced the amount of transportation his drivers would need to take. Another Monaghan innovation is the pizza box. Traditionally the pizza box was a one-ply, flimsy square that would inevitably sag when a hot pizza was inside. The box provided no protection when multiple were stacked and often would crush the pizzas inside. To reduce defects, Domino's used a thicker corrugated pizza box. This innovation protected the pizza and acted as a perfect insulator to keep that tasty pizza hot and steamy.
Many of these lean innovations resonated throughout the whole food industry, and we have Tom to thank; he has earned his share of the pie. By the late 80's he was rolling in dough and flaunted his wealth quickly and bountifully. Collecting Frank Lloyd Wright Artifacts, owning one of 6 Bugatti Royales, purchasing the Detroit Tigers, and whatever else billionaires do. Though amid all his pizza glory, Tom admittedly found the biggest waste of all: pride. "However, after reading a passage by C. S. Lewis on pride (from Mere Christianity), Monaghan divested himself of most of his more ostentatious possessions" (wikipedia).
By 1998 Domino's grew to be the pizza giant it still is today. Tom ended up selling his pizza shop to Bain Capital (Mitt Romney) for 1 billion dollars and signed it right over a charitable group.
Context
Thoughts
– What is your ideal pizza?
– What's your best $500 purchase?
– How is pride wasteful?
