Several Domino’s Pizza stores have abruptly closed their doors in the wake of a major franchisee’s apparent financial struggles.
The restaurants, located in Ohio, are owned by longtime franchisee Anthony Satterwhite, according to Domino’s most recent franchise disclosure document. They appear to be mostly operated under the name Mile High Pizza Company LLC.
As of early Thursday, Domino’s has not confirmed the closings. However, the stores are marked permanently closed on Google and have been removed from the pizza chain’s online store locator tool. Phone calls to several of the restaurants went unanswered earlier this week.
Neither Domino’s nor the franchisee responded to multiple requests for comment. Satterwhite’s mailbox was full when Fast Company attempted to contact him by phone.
News of the closures has been circulating in local Facebook circles in and around Mansfield, Ohio, for several days, with some employees posting publicly about the unfortunate development.
Several of the local postings and comments referenced rumored financial headwinds for the Ohio-based franchisee. It’s unclear how many employees will be impacted by these closures.
Which Domino’s locations have closed?
According to our review of online listings and Domino’s store locator tool, the following 11 Ohio stores have closed. The list below may not be complete. We’ll update this list with more store closures as we learn of them.
- 1036 Ashland Rd, Mansfield, OH 44905
- 625 Lexington Ave, Mansfield, OH 44903
- 359 Trimble Road, Mansfield, OH 44906
- 2077 Locust St, Canal Fulton, OH 44614
- 627 Claremont Ave, Ashland, OH 44805
- 144 S Liberty St, Galion, OH 44833
- 420 N Seltzer St, Crestline, OH 44827
- 4037 S Main St, Akron, OH 44319
- 1423 Wooster Rd W, Barberton, OH 44203
- 28 S Main St, Mt Gilead, OH 43338
- 117 Main St, Wadsworth, OH 44281
Domino’s franchise disclosure document, issued in April, reveals that Satterwhite had owned as many as 25 locations at the end of last year. However, some of those locations may have since changed hands.
Local media reports suggest that Satterwhite has owned Domino’s restaurants since at least 2017.
Is Domino’s Pizza in trouble?
Domino’s overall store footprint has actually been growing. As of June 14, the pizza chain had 7,231 locations in the United States, a net gain of 26 locations for the second quarter of this year.
This is a contrast to rival Pizza Hut, which has been closing hundreds of locations in a highly publicized turnaround plan. Fast-food restaurant giant Yum! Brands recently sold Pizza Hut to private equity firm LongRange Capital.
In February, Domino’s CFO Sandeep Reddy expressed confidence that the brand could capture a chunk of Pizza Hut customers in markets where restaurants had closed.
During Domino’s second quarter, however, same-store sales growth slowed in the United States to 0.1%, compared to 3.4% for the same period a year earlier.
Shares of Domino’s Pizza Inc. have floundered this year. As of Wednesday’s close, the stock (Nasdaq: DPZ) was down 24.41% year to date and 28.65% over the past 12 months.
This story is developing and may be updated…