Yesterday afternoon, shortly after 5 p.m., Domino’s Pizza opened its Hanover location on 73 South Main Street near CVS and the Irving Gas Station.
According to Hanover director of planning, zoning and codes Robert Houseman, the location was only waiting to receive the state’s food servicing license prior to opening. The New Hampshire certification is intended to ensure the merchant’s food is kept in a safe and clean environment, Houseman said.
“We are already servicing Dartmouth College from the West Lebanon location, so we know what to expect,” Domino’s co-owner Robert Keene said.
He noted that distance was one of the challenges of servicing the College from Domino’s West Lebanon, which is located around four miles away from campus.
“Now we can reach the back side of campus like Webster Ave.,” he said. “It’s like half a mile away. It allows us to be a lot more efficient. We’ll be able to provide better service with less drivers than we did before.”
Keene said that students will also be able to pick up their orders directly from the new location rather than “relying solely on delivery,” adding that the pizza restaurant’s location is convenient for students.
Hanover town manager Julia Griffin said that Domino’s new location in Hanover will probably not result in an increase in the number of pizzas that the fast food chain delivers to Dartmouth’s campus.
“The reason they chose to try and find a Hanover location is because so many of the pizzas they were making at their West Lebanon location were being delivered to the campus, and so they were trying to reduce the number of delivery drivers they would need to employ,” Griffin said.
However, she noted that she is worried about the impact of “a mass market pizza company on [Hanover’s] local pizzerias.”
“It would be unfortunate if there was negative pressure on local pizzerias,” she said. “College students seem always in search of cheap pizza and so Domino’s fills that need.”
Houseman said that Domino’s targeted market in Hanover is likely “related to the College.”
Griffin said it will be interesting to see how local Hanover pizzerias respond to Domino’s “coming into town.”
A representative for Ramunto’s Brick and Brew declined to comment.
Keene said that with the opening of the new restaurant, he is looking forward to being more a part of the Hanover community.
“It’s important for us to give back to communities that gave to us,” he said. “Students are obviously good customers of ours and we like to participate in any events that they have in the area.”
Keene emphasized that he and the other franchise partners enjoy “provid[ing] pizzas to campus for large gatherings or events.”
According to Keene, Domino’s will soon advertise the new Hanover location on its Facebook page and will be sending mail to local businesses and residents to inform them of the new location’s opening.
