Domino's began in Ypsilanti with a $900 loan

This is one of those Michigan business stories that already sounds embellished before anybody adds to it. On December 9, 1960, brothers Tom and James Monaghan bought a Ypsilanti pizza shop called DomiNick’s. Domino’s own company timeline says Tom borrowed $900 to make the purchase. It does not say the brothers also put $500 down.

Then comes the part that sounds least believable, but is in the company record. In 1961, James traded his half of the business to Tom for a Volkswagen Beetle. Tom kept the pizza shop.

By 1965, the business had three stores and a new name: Domino’s Pizza. The three dots in the logo represented those stores. A Domino’s 60th-anniversary publication says the original plan was to add a dot for every new store, but that idea was quickly abandoned.

The company eventually grew far beyond Ypsilanti, but the useful local version is simple: one pizza shop, a $900 loan, and a half-interest traded for a Beetle. That is unusual enough without the extra flourishes.