Domino’s operates restaurants in dozens of countries around the world, but Italy is no longer one of them. The chain has closed its last Italian location after facing rejection in the birthplace of pizza. Domino’s had big plans when it first infiltrated the Italian market in 2015. Though their pies aren’t exactly authentic, the company believed its delivery options would give them an edge over artisan pizza makers. They also tailored their recipe to Italian tastes, featuring a fermented sourdough crust and local ingredients like Grana Padano cheese and prosciutto di parma. Despite skepticism from pizza connoisseurs, the chain’s Italian rollout wasn’t disastrous. Domino’s had opened 28 locations in the country by early 2020, and it aimed to bring an additional 850 stores into the market by 2030. These goals were quickly curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many businesses in the food industry, Domino’s in Italy was hurt by social distancing measures. The chain had delivery to fall back on, but ironically, that became less of an advantage during the pandemic because many competing restaurants began offering delivery options for the first time. Suddenly, Domino’s straight-to-your door pies were no longer a novelty. According to the company, increased delivery competition is what did them in — not Italy’s distaste for American pizza. In the end, Domino's was unable to take over the world’s pizza capital, but its mission could have gone much worse. Taco Bell has twice tried to establish a presence in Mexico, and failed miserably each time.
