- New store opens with the creation of 25 jobs -

Domino’s, the local pizza delivery expert, has opened a second store in Chester. The new store, located on the High Street in Saltney, comes as a welcome boost to the area with the creation of 25 jobs. The new store officially opened on Friday.

Talib Al-Kadhimi, franchisee of the new Domino’s store, said; “We are delighted to have opened a second store in Chester. We have a skilled team of pizza makers, customer service representatives and delivery experts all ready to serve homes in the area with our delicious piping-hot pizza.”

The new store is running an opening offer of buy one, get one free on medium and large pizzas (collection orders only).  For more details and to take advantage of this offer, visit the new store at 17 High Street, Saltney, Chester CH4 8BL or call them on 01244 680088.

-Pupils from Ride High enjoy pizza making session-

Domino's Pizza has created a training programme especially for the students of Ride High. 

Ride High is a Milton Keynes based charity that helps with the development of disadvantaged children. Domino’s Pizza is one of their sponsors and decided to create this programme for groups of children from the centre. The programme is divided into two halves – the theory and the practical.

The first session – the theory – took place on Thursday, May 27, when a team member from Domino’s attended the Ride High centre, in Loughton, to talk to the children about Domino’s and how it works as a business. The children were then treated to a pizza lunch.

The second part of their session – the operational – took place at the Domino’s store on Oldbrook Boulevard on Thursday, July 15. The children were given a guided tour of the store and an explanation of how the order process works from the minute the customer calls to when the pizza leaves the store. Then came the exciting bit – the students were given the chance to make their own pizzas. The children, aged 13 and 14, couldn’t wait to get their hands on the dough and choose their own toppings. They were fascinated to watch the pizzas cook as they went through the oven.

Operations support team member, Joanne Briggs, said; "We really enjoyed having the opportunity to show the children around the store and give them the chance to make their own pizzas. It was great fun for them and for us too. It gave the children a unique insight into how their local pizza store works, giving them a fun, educational and memorable experience. They were all very keen and asked lots of questions. It was good to see them actively taking part and I think they enjoyed eating their pizzas just as much as they enjoyed making them!”

Alison Head, Ride High Centre Manager, said: “Both of these visits have proved extremely beneficial to the students.  They have really enjoyed learning about Domino’s Pizza and especially enjoyed their own pizza making session. Some of our pupils really struggle in expressing themselves effectively and lack confidence when communicating so it was great to see them integrate well with the store staff and ask questions. This kind of visit really adds to their own personal development, it is an extremely useful training programme and we intend to continue to put different groups of children through these sessions. The staff at Domino’s were very professional and patient and I am sure Domino’s Pizza will be something the children continue to talk about for weeks to come.”

At the end of the operational session each of the children were presented with a junior pizza maker certificate.

If your school or charity would like to organise a free tour of Domino's Pizza in Oldbrook, please call Robin Cooper on 07966 712699.

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Photo caption:

Budding pizza makers from Ride High with Jo Briggs of Domino’s (far right) during the store tour at Domino’s in Oldbrook.

- School kids benefit from three day course on healthy living -

A number of Watford school children have been treated to a three day course about healthy living courtesy of Watford Learning – a government initiative based at Watford Football Club. The course was made possible thanks to funding by the Watford branch of Domino’s Pizza.

The three day programme, laid on for 20 students from years five and six, included information about the role of a balanced diet and how to cook healthy food as well as information on the importance of exercise. The course included a session with Domino’s Pizza technical manager Clare Harris, a qualified food technologist, and a visit to the Abbots Langley store to see how fresh pizzas are made and how you can make your pizza healthier.

Domino’s franchisee, Saif Alani, said: “We are delighted to help make this course possible. Pizza and healthy living may not seem like the most obvious link up to many people – but our customers only order, on average, once a month and we are still the only major pizza delivery chain that offers a reduced fat cheese option.

“We are firm believers that pizza should only be part of a balanced diet and I think it’s a great thing that I can help these kids learn how best to achieve that.”

Assistant Learning Centre Manager, Kashan Malik said: “Domino’s Pizza Watford has been a sponsor of Watford Learning for many years. We were delighted when Saif offered to support us in delivering such an important message to young people. The course was a great success, especially the pizza making session. It was great to see how you can customise your Domino’s pizza to make it lower in fat and calories.”

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Photo caption:

Healthy Hornets – Watford school children have attended a healthy living course, sponsored by Domino’s Pizza.

Domino’s, the local pizza delivery expert, is set to create around 30 full and part-time jobs when its new Pontyclun store opens in autumn 2010.

Planning permission has just been granted on appeal for the store on Cowbridge Road, bringing with it a welcome employment boost for the area.

Domino’s Pizza will be recruiting within the community for trainee managers, trainee pizza makers, customer service representatives and delivery experts.

The franchisee for the new Pontyclun store is local young business man, Tej Randeva, aged 30 from Llantrisant.

Tej Randeva, franchisee of the new Domino’s store said; “It’s been a long time coming but I am absolutely delighted we now have the go ahead for our new store in Pontyclun. I’m disappointed we had to go to appeal for approval, but we got the decision we wanted in the end and I just can’t wait to get my new team onboard. We are looking to employ people who live in the community that we’ll be serving. First and foremost, we’ll be looking for people who can deliver great customer service and demonstrate strong teamwork skills, as well as boundless enthusiasm. It’s also vital to be able to maintain a sense of fun while working under pressure.”

Domino’s Pizza believes in opportunities for all. The company is an Age Positive Employer Champion, which means that it has been recognised for its commitment to welcoming applicants of all ages. Domino’s will be recruiting on the basis of ability and, as many team members go on to management positions in under two years, this recruitment drive is a fantastic opportunity for jobseekers in Pontyclun.

At induction, as well as throughout their career, Domino’s offers its employees full training, ranging from dough management and food hygiene for pizza makers through to road safety for pizza delivery experts. Domino’s always recruits from the surrounding area and, with an additional focus on developing strong community links, aims to deliver more than just great tasting pizza. In particular, Domino’s supports Special Olympics Great Britain (SOGB) on both a national and local level. SOGB provides people with learning disabilities opportunities to take part in year-round sports training and competition.

·         The new store is set to open in autumn 2010 and is located at Unit 2, 36 Cowbridge Road, Pontyclun CF72 9EE

·         Details of how to apply for jobs at Domino’s in Pontyclun will soon be available on the new store’s website –

www.dominos-pontyclun.co.uk

- North East franchisee scoops Acorn award -

Domino’s Pizza franchisee, Mike Racz from Hartlepool, has scooped a prestigious Acorn award for young people in the hospitality industry.

The Acorn awards scheme is run by Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine and recognises the outstanding achievements of people aged under 30 in the hospitality and catering industry. The awards are given to highly ambitious individuals who demonstrate proven career progression and go above and beyond their everyday job.

Domino’s franchisee Mike Racz, aged 28, has just received his Acorn award. Mike arrived in the UK from Hungary six years ago and in this short amount of time, he has gone from working as a pizza maker to become a successful multi-unit franchisee in the North East. In 2006, Mike started his Domino’s franchise with the opening of his first store in Hartlepool at the age of 24. Today, he also owns five more stores in Redcar, Stockton-on-Tees, Sunderland, Washington and Scarborough. In addition to running his franchise, Mike is involved in a range of community initiatives with schools, groups and charities, as well as supporting and mentoring new Domino’s franchisees.

Andy Hirst, head of franchise development at Domino’s Pizza, said: “Mike has developed his franchise into a very successful, well run operation within a short period of time. This is an achievement well beyond his years and perhaps even more remarkable for someone who only came to the UK in 2004. Mike is one of Domino’s fastest growing and most successful franchisees in the North East and winning this Acorn award is fantastic recognition of his hard work and dedication.”

Mike Racz, Domino’s franchisee, said: “I am absolutely delighted to have won this award. I have been very fortunate to be able to develop my career and set up my own business with Domino’s. I’ve worked hard to make the most of every opportunity and am proud of my achievements so far, but I’m determined to keep going. I’m really passionate about what I do and with the fantastic teams in each of my stores behind me, I’m very excited about what the future holds.”

With six Domino’s stores under his belt, Mike remains as ambitious as ever and is continually seeking new opportunities to grow his pizza empire further.

For further information on franchising with Domino’s Pizza, visit www.dominos.uk.com/franchising or contact Dawn Power by calling 01908 580657 or email dawn.power@dominos.co.uk.

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Photo caption:

Domino’s franchisee Mike Racz (centre), receiving his Acorn award from Tracey Rogers, managing director, Unilever Foodsolutions and Mark Lewis, group editor, Caterer & Hotelkeeper.

- Pupils from Tir-y-Berth Primary learn the art of pizza making from the delivery experts -

Domino’s Pizza has been back to school to help 23 pupils from Tir-y-Berth Primary School in Hengoed learn more about the skilled art of pizza making. The store tour was designed to teach the pupils, aged seven and eight years old, more about food preparation and how a business such as Domino’s operates.

The Domino’s team from the Blackwood store invited Tir-y-Berth Primary to find out more about the business. Having taken them through the day to day running of a pizza delivery store, Domino’s put the pupils through their pizza making paces stretching fresh dough, covering bases with vine-ripened tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese and then topping them with their favourite fresh ingredients. The pizzas were baked and the pupils were able to enjoy their very own, freshly made pizza treat.

Leanne Lloyd, deputy headteacher at Tir-y-Berth Primary School, said: “We were delighted to be invited to our local Domino’s store. The store tour has really helped to bring to life how a business operates and to get the pupils excited about preparing food. The class had lots of fun during the visit and it has been a great contribution towards their studies during our ‘industry fortnight’ project, covering aspects of design technology.”

Ashish Parekh, Domino’s store manager in Blackwood, added: “As a local store, we’re very keen to deliver more to our community and are delighted to support schools such as Tir-y-Berth. We were very pleased to show the pupils more about how our business works and give them the opportunity to try their hand at pizza making. Our store relies on great teamwork and it was good to see them really getting stuck in to help each other create some tasty topping combinations.”

Domino’s Blackwood also helped Tir-y-Berth Primary earlier this year with fundraising at its annual school fete. Domino’s donated some pizzas and the school made £52 from selling them to fete-goers.

All Domino’s Pizza stores are charged with delivering more to their local community. This is a programme run by Domino’s head office to encourage all stores to support local charities and events and play an active role in their neighbourhoods. For more details on how your school or group could get involved with the Blackwood store, contact them by calling 01495 231133 or pop in to 3 North Court, High Street, Blackwood NP12 1FG.

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Photo caption:

Tir-y-Berth Primary enjoying their store tour at Domino’s Blackwood.

Simon Wallis has joined Domino’s Pizza as Sales and Marketing Director.

Simon previously worked as Senior Director of Marketing UK and EMEA for Papa John’s and brings with him a wealth of experience from this role and previous positions at Pizza Hut and KFC. In his new role at Domino’s, Simon is responsible for sales and marketing activity for both the UK and Ireland.

Chris Moore, Chief Executive of Domino’s Pizza, said: “We are delighted to welcome Simon to Domino’s. We’re sure his knowledge and expertise will be a great asset to our business and help to drive our marketing forward as the Company continues to grow.”

Simon Wallis, Domino’s new Sales and Marketing Director, added: “Domino’s is the best pizza delivery business – not just in the UK, but anywhere in the world and I’m very pleased to be onboard. The brand has achieved phenomenal sales success in the past few years and I’m looking forward to being part of the continued growth and development of the Company. It’s an exciting time to be joining Domino’s and I’m already relishing the challenge!”

For more information on Domino’s Pizza, log onto www.dominos.co.uk.

Domino’s Pizza, the pizza delivery expert, has scooped silver in the prestigious British Franchise Association (BFA) HSBC Franchise Awards 2010. Domino’s won the silver award within the Franchisor of the Year category.

The BFA HSBC Awards recognise franchisors who are leading the way and demonstrating best practice in the industry. Finalists are judged on their strategies, developments and achievements and Domino’s was presented the silver Franchisor of the Year award based on its continued impressive growth, ambitious future plans and the comprehensive support it provides for its 135 franchisees in the UK and Ireland.

Andy Hirst, head of franchise development at Domino’s, said: “We are delighted to have won the silver in these prestigious awards, which recognise the country’s top franchisors. We’re really proud of the very successful franchise model we provide for our franchisees and to scoop the silver is a fantastic achievement and a great accolade in our 25^th anniversary year.”

Celebrating 25 successful years in the UK, Domino’s Pizza offers an ideal opportunity for anyone wishing to take their career in a new and tasty direction. For more details on franchising opportunities with Domino’s, log on to www.dominos.uk.com/franchising

Domino’s Pizza in Huyton is one of the premises to receive a five star ‘excellent’ rating as Knowsley Council introduces ‘Scores on the Doors’, a scheme which ranks the results of food hygiene inspections in a five star rating system.

As Food Safety Week gets underway (7-13 June), diners in Knowsley now have the chance to find out the standard of food hygiene in the borough. The results are available to the public through the Knowsley Council website (www.knowsley.gov.uk/scoresonthedoors).

Food hygiene inspections are carried out at all Knowsley businesses which handle food, in line with national guidelines. The scores are awarded for food hygiene and safety procedures, condition of the premises and the management of the business and its food safety systems.

The inspections are then converted into the following star ratings:

Star rating                                                    Standard of premises

* * * * *             (5 star)                                    Excellent

* * * *               (4 star)                                    Very good

* * *                  (3 star)                                    Good

* *                    (2 star)                                    Fair

*                       (1 star)                                    Poor

                        (0 stars)                                  Major improvement needed

Cllr Ken Keith, Knowsley Council’s Cabinet Member for Corporate and Customer Services, said: “The ‘Scores on the Doors’ scheme will be really helpful for people in Knowsley to decide where to eat and buy their food because they can now see how premises are performing on food hygiene.

“Having this public rating system is a great incentive for local businesses to make sure they are following all food hygiene guidelines and achieving the very highest standards.

“I congratulate those premises which are performing well and receiving the highest ratings and would encourage those performing less well to take on board our ratings and recommendations to improve their standards.

“Knowsley’s Environmental Health team will continue to work closely with all premises to make sure they have the highest possible standards of food hygiene.”

Luke Vernon, area operations manager for the Domino’s Pizza franchise in Stafford, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Cannock, has been awarded the prestigious title of Mr PizzaNality 2010 at Domino’s 25^th anniversary annual awards banquet.

The title Mr PizzaNality is awarded to one individual from all Domino’s stores in the UK and Ireland who has shown pizzazz, passion and initiative in the true spirit of Domino’s Pizza. Luke scooped the title for his idea to create an innovative costume to help with local marketing at the Stafford, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Cannock stores. The unique design, based on a simple Domino’s pizza box, was spotted by Domino’s head office team as a fantastic idea and put into mass production. The outfit has taken Domino’s stores across the UK by storm with over 200 currently in use and orders for new ones being received every week.

Luke Vernon, operations manager for the Domino’s Pizza franchise in Stafford, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Cannock, said: “I first got the idea for the giant pizza box costume when my franchisee, Ben Sandy, called me after eating a whole large pizza one evening. He said he was so full that he felt like a walking, talking pizza with the box included. His comment sparked off an idea and I made a prototype myself out of cardboard. I realised I was onto something when the costume got such a great response from our customers. It’s an honour to know that my idea is now being used in Domino’s stores across the country and to scoop this award really is the icing on the cake – or the pepperoni on my pizza!”

Luke started working for Domino’s in 2002. He joined the Stafford store at the age of 17 as a driver and his passion for pizzas has seen him work his way up through the business to store manager at Domino’s in Newcastle-under-Lyme and now as area operations manager for his franchisee’s group of three stores.

Domino’s Pizza’s annual awards recognise the talents and hard work of the franchisees and in-store teams from the company’s 616 stores in the UK and Ireland. Domino’s is currently celebrating its 25^th anniversary so this year’s awards were a very special occasion, marking a significant milestone in the company’s history.