No More Dominos

"In news that might sadden no one"

Well the demise will most certainly have saddened the local employees who lost their jobs.

I am sure that the few employees there will find other jobs. I get disappointed when I see US fast food in Europe.

When a KFC opens, there is one thing that follows - increase in obesity.

"I get disappointed when I see US fast food in Europe."

Yeah I know what you mean, I feel the same whenever I see yet another Papa Johns or Little Caesars outlet opening in Canada.

Paul, I observed plenty of Europeans with weight challenges in the 1970s before KFC even opened their first franchise there. Not that I ever eat at one of them.

And yet, I'm never unhappy when I encounter a Tim Hortons on my travels. : )

A medium double double and a plain glazed is guaranteed to destress me every time. Sorry; that might be something only another Canadian would understand.

Hmmm ... is there actually any room for coffee in a medium double double ?

I'm waiting for the return of the unglazed sour cream.

Sorry; that might be something only another Canadian would understand.

Loved me my Timmies while in Glasgow in June.

Tim Horton's is making its way into the US. We were in Ohio NE of Cleveland and had the opportunity to stop it. The coffee was OK, and there were lots of donuts. More like a Dunkin' Donuts in many ways.

So, for you Canucks, if there was a Tim Horton's in Venice or on the outskirts of the Tulerries, would you be getting your hit of the best of Canada on your vacay?

Many are noticing the CAUSAL CONNECTION between US fast food and obesity:

https://newint.org/immersive/2021/06/08/when-kfc-came-kenya-fjf

US fast foods use a lot of oil, a lot of breading, and are high-calorie foods. These are attractive to many (not to my wife and I who never eat in such places). They do lead to obesity.

I think if I came round a corner and saw a Tims in Europe on my vacation, I’d run the other way!
When I’m not in Italy, I dream about proper cappuccinos and cornetti with apricot jam.
We tend to have coffee when out in independent coffee shops to support local.
Though, when in Newfoundland 3 years ago, all there was in every town was Tim Horton’s, so we had no choice.
Well supported in small towns!

I'm not overly fond of Timmies food or coffee, and even though there's just about one on every street corner here, I rarely go there even here at home. When in Italy or elsewhere, I prefer an Espresso or the local coffee whenever possible.

I'm not too surprised at the demise of Domino's in Italy as that's not real Italian pizza (IMHO).. Unfortunately the local Italian Deli closed here about a month ago, so I can no longer get decent authentic Italian Pizza and have to suffer with the local slop. I guess it's time to plan a trip to Italy.

So, for you Canucks, if there was a Tim Horton's in Venice or on the
outskirts of the Tulerries, would you be getting your hit of the best
of Canada on your vacay?

Depends on how long I've been away from home. I love the coffee in France and Italy. And in Germany and Austria. For me, it's not so much about the quality of the coffee (although their doughnuts are excellent). But it's a taste of home. When we lived in Germany I could buy really excellent Italian and German coffees at our local market. And enjoyed it. However, every time we made the quarterly trip to our main base in Geilenkirchen, we would buy a few tins of Tim's to bring back to our village. Just for the taste of home. Sadly, the donut holes never made it home. Lol.

And on one of our cruises, which had truly awful coffee on board, we saw a Tim's in a mall in Dubai. DH didn't have to ask twice if I wanted a coffee break.

Granted it’s been a while, but when I lived in Spain decades ago there were only two Burger Kings in the entire country. No other U.S. fast food places. Since it had been a year since leaving the states, my wife and I had our first anniversary dinner in 1978 at the one in Madrid at the Puerta Del Sol. It was still there in 2014, but had moved to a new location closer to the Plaza Mayor by June this year. Other fast food places began showing up by the mid-90s.

"I dream about proper cappuccinos"

Yeah, hopefully you're having good luck avoiding that nasty UHT milk / cream that is used in oh so many European caffes and hotels.
.
Getting back to Pizzas in Italy - I haven't been to Naples so I can't make that the measuring tape, but of the Pizzas I have had in Italy, I'll only say that I've had some good ones and bad ones, never great ones - just like back here in Canada (I've never had a Dominos Pizza, so I can't use that as a measure, either.)

So, for you Canucks, if there was a Tim Horton's in Venice or on the
outskirts of the Tulerries, would you be getting your hit of the best
of Canada on your vacay?

I wouldn't go out of my way, but if it's there...yes I would. I wrote about it in my June trip report about Scotland that by coincidence there was a Tim Hortons a block from our hotel in Glasgow. At home, every Sunday morning my wife and I hit our neighbourhood Timmies for our weekly "travel meeting" to discuss upcoming our future trips. So we took our meeting international to one of the two Glasgow Tim's. While the signage was the same, the food menu was very different.

Timmies are taking over in central England too... my Canadian heritage friends go crazy for a coffee and a (or two) cruller.

We've had Tim Hortons around the corner from my home in Westland MI and other locations in metro Detroit for at least 3 decades. We also had a member of my IT data warehousing staff commuting daily from Windsor Canada to Dearborn MI. We often brought donuts to the dreaded weekly meetings from both the US and Canadian Tim Hortons. Many people insisted that the items he brought from Windsor tasted better than the corresponding item from the US restaurants. Our Canadian team member proposed that the quality of the ingredients used differed. Several agreed with that claim and others weren't convinced tastes were that different or quality varied. The issue lent some levity to the meetings for years.

Tim Hortons are in Madrid too. Seems the chain is expanding everywhere.

I wonder if the non-Canadian stores are corporate-owned or franchised.

I think they are both.

For the record, TH is owned by Restaurant Brands International who also own Popeyes, Burger King, and Firehouse Subs.

A guilty pleasure of mine is going to McDonalds once on every international trip. Usually it's in the airport. I enjoy seeing how the menu differs and the exotic LTO's they have.

One day I hope to visit McDonald's in Japan and bask in the glow of ultimate consumerism

https://www.tsunagujapan.com/50-mcdonald-s-menu-items-only-in-japan/

Domino's is one of two US food chains in my little Mexican town. (The other is Subway.)

We don't have great pizza here, but almost any of the pizza you can get in local restaurants is better than Domino's. From what I've observed, Domino's is more popular with the locals here than with the gringos.

What's hard for me to understand is why Domino's ever thought they could compete in Italy.

"why Domino's ever thought they could compete in Italy"

On that same note, how is it that Subway oulets operate and "thrive" in Italy and with 2200 storefronts throughout Europe ?

They do lead to obesity.

Not necessarily. They certainly contribute to it or exacerbate it, I'll concede that willingly, but they don't cause it or 'lead' to it. I know plenty of healthy thin or normal weight people who eat at McD's and other fast food places fairly regularly (and not just the salads either). And they have since they were kids. I also know several obese persons who never have or never will eat at those types of restaurants. And don't forget that most fast food chains offer healthy alternatives on their menus, especially in Europe. Obesity is a big problem, especially in America, but the causes are not all known or understood. And even the growing number of overweight and obese people in other countries like those in Europe and elsewhere cannot be blamed just on the proliferation of American fast food chains there.

Blaming fast food restaurants for obesity is very short sighted, there may be a connection but it's not a cause and effect relationship.

I mean, as someone who's been in marketing for more than 20 years, this seemed to be doomed from the start. Similar to the failed attempts of Taco Bell to expand in Mexico.

"as someone who's been in marketing for more than 20 years"

How is it that Taco Bell stays in business PERIOD

The Italians don't know what they're missing. The problem with the
"authentic" pizza you get in Italy is that it is usually boring. Only
two or three toppings, often fairly measly proportions and none of the
good toppings available. With Domino there is a better choice of more
tasty ingredients and a more generous and flavoursome spread.

🤣🤣🤣

And Nick wins the Momus prize of the year

I mean, as someone who's been in marketing for more than 20 years,
this seemed to be doomed from the start. Similar to the failed
attempts of Taco Bell to expand in Mexico.

I'm not sure about that.

Starbuck's Coffee, whose founder got the idea in Milan, is rather successful in Italy. Same is true with other chains like McDonald's, Burger King, KFC. When I lived in Italy in the early 1980's none of them existed. Now they can be found everywhere along the Boot.

Even Domino's, the "Franchisor", hasn't gone bankrupt. The company that went bankrupt was ePizza S.p.A., the "franchisee". I read that Domino's is already scouting the country to find another "Franchisee". So it is highly possible that Domino's might come back in the Italian neighborhood near you.

periscope, I once heard an elderly Ralph Stanley, and his Clinch Mountain Boys sing " Daddy, Don't Go To the Mine." I wasn't familiar with it before.

Jobs at any cost, are not to be worshipped.

unless you are the involved party

Nick Cartagena, that's fairly opinionated. Domino's pizza has carboard for crust, I would say, hahahaha...

The assumption people are making is that Dominos was offering the exact same product in Italy as they were here in the US - the land of quantity over quality. I understand what they were really selling was their fast and cheap delivery service

For anyone interested, here's a menu I found...

https://www.dominositalia.it/it/pages/order/menu#!/menu/category/entrees/

Mmmmmm, Hawaiian is on the menu. I have to wonder what the reaction would be if I dropped into a traditional pizza place in Naples and asked if they could put pineapple on the pizza?

I was eating at an outdoor restaurant in Perugia in June, and the guy at the table next to me had a pizza delivered to his table. I asked him what were the toppings because it looked like French fries! The toppings were French fries and hot dogs, and it was called “The American”! Ughhhh!

"Ughhhh"

How about a Chip Butty the next time you're in London?

The toppings were French fries and hot dogs, and it was called “The American”! Ughhhh!

The Domino's menu linked above calls this a "Wursty and Chips"...a distinctly un-American name!

I wasn't impressed with the Italian Domino's menu in the link. The food looks like much the same slop we get here. I sometimes have the local pizza here (from another chain) but would choose genuine Italian pizza every time if it was available.

@periscope, I’ll have a Chip Butty followed by a 2-hour carb overload nap! Whew!