By Randy Arrington
LURAY, June 12 — In his early days with Domino’s, Scott Zitzer could prep a pepperoni pizza for the oven in just 27 seconds. Nowadays, the 17-year owner of the Luray franchise is more concerned with efficient work and dining space inside the store and overall output.
Previously the national pizza chain’s local shop could produce about 80 to 90 pizzas per hour on a busy Friday night — now, following a recent relocation and expansion, the Luray Domino’s can put out about 180 pizzas per hour.
“We did this for the community,” Zitzer said last week. “It may be a national franchise, but we are still local.”
Last Monday, a group of supporters and community leaders gathered at the new Domino’s location on East Main Street to celebrate its official grand opening with a ribbon cutting hosted by the Luray-Page County Chamber of Commerce.
“Domino’s has always been a great supporter of the Chamber and the community. It doesn’t go unnoticed,” Chamber President Gina Hilliard said during the June 12 event. She noted that Scott’s wife, Kelly, used to work for the Chamber, as well as acknowledging Scott’s many efforts to support fundraisers for local schools and non-profits.
Scott has owned the local Domino’s since it moved into its previous location at 9 Campbell Street in 2006. The transition to 721 East Main (the former Pizza Hut for many years) means double the space, and double the space means more ovens and the new addition of in-door dining. The new building, which sat vacant for some time, was purchased in August and underwent more than six months of design planning and renovations. Including drivers, the store now employs about 25.
“We could have gone with a smaller space, but this will hopefully spark an increase in business and allow us to offer more to the community,” Zitzer said. “It’s really about us being able to provide more and do it in a more efficient way.”
Three tables now sit in front of the new location, while the back features a larger walk-in freezer, large screens to track orders and drivers, and double the oven capacity. While the old ovens cooked a pizza in 10 minutes, the new ovens can do the same job in just six minutes, 20 seconds.
Domino’s changed some of its recipes in 2008 and 2009, and in recent years they have expanded their menu to include “tots” covered with cheese and toppings, as well as sandwiches, pasta dishes and desserts.
Online orders make up about 60 percent of the orders the local Domino’s receives, according to Zitzer, with about 30 to 40 percent of all orders being deliveries — a change from when the national franchise started and was almost all delivery. Carryout is available until 10 p.m. each night. Curbside pickup is also available through the Domino’s app from 4 to 9 p.m. with preorders. Customers can have their pizza brought to their car within two minutes of arriving.
Ideally, the local franchise would like to add a drive-thru, but that was not included in recent renovations. The addition of outdoor seating — a recent trend at local eateries — is also a future possibility.
Zitzer grew up in Damascus, Md. and started with Domino’s in 1992. Since 2006, he has called Luray home, and he has spent the better part of the last two decades becoming a part of the community.
“I grew up in a small town, so I always wanted to be around a small town,” Zitzer said of his personal investment in Luray. “And we operate the business with the community and the idea of a small town in mind.”
The local Domino’s franchise has provided numerous pizzas for fundraisers at cost, donated to local charities, and offered employment opportunities for local youth. With the recent improvements that were made at their new location, it appears Domino’s will be a fixture for many years to come, in a highly competitive small town “pizzeria” setting.
“Thank you for all the donations and all you’ve done for the community,” Mayor Jerry Doffleymyer said during the June 12 ribbon cutting. “This renovation is wonderful…it’s wonderful to get something back in this building, and we wish you all the best.”
Domino’s, now at 721 East Main Street in Luray, is open from 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and remains open until midnight on Friday and Saturday.
Check them out online and place orders at
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