A Popular Fast-Food Pizza Chain Is Closing Locations And The Reason Couldn't Be Clearer

Recently, a rather alarming report from Business Insider predicted that more than 2,500 retail stores will close during 2025. That includes well-known names like Kohl's, Macy's, and Forever 21, just to name a few. What's more, the number of shuttered stores could reach a mind-numbing 45,000 by the year 2029. And that's before President Trump's tariff policy was formalized, which will likely make the retail landscape even more bleak.

Restaurants aren't exempt from the carnage, either. Fan-favorite burger joints like Red Robin and Steak & Shake are in retreat mode, and it looks like at least one pizza purveyor is also facing some struggles: Domino's. Though to be clear, the vast majority — about 96%— of Domino's stores are owned by franchisees and not by the company itself. In fact, Domino's — founded in 1960 as "DomiNick's" — was an early adopter of the franchise model and used it to rapidly build its brand. The number of franchisee-owned locations grew from two in 1968 to more than 200 stores just 10 years later. 

Domino's largest franchise holder is Australia-based Domino's Pizza Enterprises (DPE), not to be confused with brand mothership Domino's Pizza, Inc. In February 2025, DPE announced the shutdown of a significant 205 of its pizza stores. Fortunately for American fans of the delivery juggernaut, all of doomed stored are located internationally, with 172 in Japan alone. The company's new Chief Executive, Mark van Dyck, told the Wall Street Journal, "Some of our Covid-period expansion resulted in stores that simply weren't optimal based on our current customer proposition, and removing them will strengthen our network."

Even after this massive wave of closings, Domino's Pizza Enterprises will continue to operate more than 3,000 locations worldwide, including Asia, Europe, and the South Pacific. Although the closings will incur a one-time expense of approximately $61 million for the franchise-holder, the decision is expected to return a savings of $10 million per year over the long term.

While DPE appears poised to bounce back from its over-expansion, other Domino's franchise owners may not be so lucky. In particular, there's California-based People First Pizza Inc, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2025. According to the bankruptcy petition, People First has at least $615,000 worth of disputed debt against it, versus $100,000 to $500,000 in assets. 

It's not immediately clear whether the People First Pizza bankruptcy will ultimately result in some or all of its franchised stores closing. However, even if the franchisee is unable to recover from its current financial troubles, the possibility exists to sell its locations and franchising rights to another investor or entrepreneur. After all, savvy franchise owners can earn a surprising amount of money. 

In summary, while a select few Domino's franchise holders appear to have made some bad decisions, the brand itself has rebounded nicely from a quality crisis in the early-2000s when delivery speed came at the expense of taste. Besides pizza, Domino's menu includes items like pasta, salad, dessert, and chicken wings — the latter of which is the most expensive item on Domino's entire menu.