Domino’s Pizza is coming to Carterton.
The global food chain will set up shop next to Carterton Pharmacy and Kainga Eatery “in the next few months” and is expected to result in about 20 new jobs for locals, a Domino’s spokesperson said.
Owner and operator Pritpal Singh – who has worked for the pizza chain for a decade – will run the store with his wife and business partner Kamalpreet.
Once the store is up and running, Singh intends to give back to the community through sponsorships and fundraising for schools and sports clubs in the area.
The couple will also donate pizzas through Feed the Knead, the company’s nationwide programme that aims to give those doing it tough one less thing to worry about – a safe, hot meal.
The announcement elicited puzzled reviews from Carterton businesses.
Downtown Country Chicken and Pizza head chef Raj Kishore thinks it’s an odd move for the pizza chain.
“We already have pizza places in Carterton. We serve pizza here, there’s the food truck by the gas station, and a new one opening at the Marquis,” he noted.
“If I were Domino’s I wouldn’t be opening a store here, I would open in Greytown or Featherston, where they don’t have a pizza place.”
The budget pizza chain isn’t for everyone, he said.
“I get customers who drive here from Masterton for this pizza.
“I ask why, because there’s plenty of pizza places there, but they say they don’t love the Domino’s.”
Kainga Eatery owner Shelley Rutene said the new competition will affect independent takeaway businesses.
“I don’t know if Carterton really needs a Domino’s. It won’t really affect us, because it’s a different market.
“We’re a small town. I feel sorry for the other places, like the pizza place down the road. Carterton is mostly independent businesses, we don’t really have those big chains.”
Haha nice try Greytown doesn’t need that junk and FYI it already has pizza.