John Caputo signing the Master Galactic Franchise Agreement at Domino’s World Resource Center.
PHILIPSBURG--Shortly before the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak and the grounding of flights, local Domino’s Pizza franchisees John and Heather Caputo were at Domino’s headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan, negotiating the first of its kind – a Master Galactic Agreement to secure the rights to open and operate Domino’s locations on Planet Mars some 30 years from now.
Domino’s said in a press release issued on Tuesday that this follows the recent announcement by tech genius and Tesla owner Elon Musk to establish a colony of one million people on the planet Mars by the year 2050. Jeff Bezos of Amazon has also announced that he has plans to establish a colony on the moon.
“There obviously would be a demand for comforts of earth, many business development opportunities, and Domino’s should certainly be prepared to be the first [quick service restaurant – Ed.] QSR to announce or establish a franchise operation there.
“I thought more and more about it, realised that it may appear crazy, but the more and more I thought about it, I said, ‘Why not?’ and decided to take on that challenge. I acknowledge that we would be in my 70s by that time; but this is something I can potentially groom my kids or their kids for, in my succession plan. The most important part for me now was to secure the rights before someone else took the opportunity,” Caputo said in the release.
“I realise that this dream is literally ‘out of this world’ and seemingly a bit crazy, but as an ambitious entrepreneur, marketing fanatic and loyal Domino’s franchisee I would love to take on this challenge. This dream sticks with the Domino’s message of ‘Oh yes we did.’ If people don’t dream to push the limits of the Power of Possible, we’ll never know how far each of us can go.”
The Domino’s Franchise Relations Department in Michigan has always said that being a franchisee on a small island, Caputo’s full potential is held back by geography. “The St. Maarten locations are the only stores on the planet that deliver daily from one location to two countries by car and two more by airplane. They even set a world record by delivering to eight countries/islands from a single location in under 46 minutes; why not be the first to deliver to two planets?” the release said.
“When John came to us with this request, we at first had no idea how to react. Once we sat down with the legal team, the public relations team and the Domino’s executive team, it became quickly clear that this may not be an impossible dream.
“The announcement of the signing was delayed until now and was to be kept confidential, as there were many new legal aspects to consider before releasing these plans to develop Mars. We are proud to welcome the Caputos to being the world’s first Master Galactic Franchisees. We are confident that he and his team will continue to make the Domino’s brand proud and [take it] literally to all new heights,” said Domino’s Pizza International spokesperson Mitt Tiremack.
Special pizza equipment will be designed and current food suppliers to the International Space Station will be approached to see how production, packaging, shelf life and quality can be attained for the products to make the long journey to Mars, before they will be able to be produced there locally.
“The bright side here is that we have plenty of time to iron out these challenges,” John Caputo concluded.
