FARMINGTON — Pizza night in Farmington has a new option on the table: Domino’s. The franchise recently opened its door at 596 Wilton Rd on Monday, Feb. 27, and has been long awaited by many members of the community.
Some Franklin County residents, however, have not been so welcoming to the pizza chain, as evidenced by a heated online debate amongst members of the Facebook group, Farmington, Maine Area: News & Community.
The group, which has more than 7,000 members, is typically a place where Farmington residents can share information, ask questions and support one another like any other community page.
In the month of February, however, as Domino’s drew closer to opening, members of the community inquired when the opening day would be. On Tuesday, Feb. 7, Kyle Devoe made a post asking when the restaurant would be opening, sparking the initial debate of supporting local establishments over major franchises.
“Farmington House of Pizza, The Dugout, Basil’s, Mosher’s, and Mary Jane’s Slice of Heaven are all open already,” Brendan McGuire commented. “Why not buy local?”
“Every time this question is asked the comments make it out to be a crime to eat anything other than locally owned food,” Kelsey Richardson added to the discussion.
Stelser started as a delivery driver for the franchise 17 years ago and has been a franchise owner for the last 12 years. This location is his tenth Domino’s store opened.
Discussion of the pizza chain subsided from there until Monday, Feb. 20, when Scotty Waudy reiterated the question, and a flux of the same comments came in.
“Dominos is the McDonald’s of pizza, mediocre crap,” one user stated in the comments. “Go support one of the 20 mom and pop shops in a 10 mile radius who can make a better pie, at a comparable price.”
“Pretty sure people can support local businesses AND also enjoy pizza from Domino’s,” another user responded to the comment.
Things started to get heated when Heidi LeBlanc Peer made a post stating that the opening is not official and was pending inspections and equipment installation.
“Why does anyone think we need another pizza place in town???,” Darcy Harding Swett stated in the comments.
“Can we shut off comments on this post already?” Jessica Adams asked.
The following day, Amy Taranko made a posting urging others to support locally owned pizza restaurants over the next week. “Next week seems like a great time to work pizza into the menu,” she said.
And in the comment sections, many showed support for some of their favorite locally owned establishments, such as Mary Jane’s Slice of Heaven, Dugout Bar and Grill and Farmington’s House of Pizza being among the many mentioned.
Up until this point, apart from the snide comments here and there, things seemed civil and relatively lighthearted in their commentary on the subject.
On Sunday, Feb. 26, things started to turn when Rob Martin made a post declaring that the following Monday would be Domino’s official opening day. The post managed to gather five comments before administration on the Facebook page shut off the comment section.
“Before we jump on the negativity wagon – let’s remember local people are being hired here,” Kathryn Clement managed to say before the comment section could go any further.
On Monday, Feb. 27, Kathy Card made a post declaring the pizza wars have commenced, with the comment section engaging in more debate over whether it is better to support local establishments or choosing a franchise location.
“I’ve never seen so much drama over pizza,” Courtney Irwin stated. “You’d think it’s a cardinal sin to order pizza from Domino’s.”
“It’s seriously appalling how our community is acting,” Elizabeth Montoya said.
With the location now open, it is up to the community and free market to decide whether it will survive or thrive, but one thing is clear: Farmington takes its pizza very seriously.
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