Domino’s Pizza has expanded its footprint in Jamaica with the opening of a new store in Havendale, St Andrew, a move the restaurant chain says is driven by its commitment to improving customer accessibility.

The store, located at 1 Border Avenue, across the road from a rival Pizza Hut outlet, opened its doors to customers on November 10, followed by a grand opening on November 14.

According to Adrian Kerr, general manager of Domino’s Pizza Jamaica operator Convenient Brands Limited, the decision to establish a store in the community was guided by the company’s focus on convenience and accessibility.

“Domino’s Jamaica is the number one pizza company in the country and what we have been trying to do is to ensure that customers are able to access us as easily as possible and so, the rationale behind placing the store where we placed it is to simply make our store locations more accessible,” he said.

Kerr added that since the opening, the restaurant has been receiving positive feedback from customers, many of whom appreciate its convenience, particularly given Kingston’s afternoon traffic.

“The response has been pretty good. I think what persons appreciate more than anything else is the convenience. As you know, traffic in Kingston can be a nightmare, if you try to get anywhere in Kingston after 2 o’clock on any given day, it can be quite tedious to get anywhere in the city. The fact that we have been able to put a store close to where persons live, it means that it cuts down on the time and the inconvenience for them to try to get there and then get home,” he said.

Domino’s Pizza Jamaica operates 17 restaurants across Kingston, St Andrew, St Catherine, Mandeville, May Pen, Ocho Rios and Montego Bay. Kerr said the Montego Bay location is temporarily closed due to electricity issues in the area following Hurricane Melissa.

“The hurricane did have some impact on our operations in Montego Bay. But currently, we have 16 stores that are fully operational between Kingston, St Andrews, St Catherine, Mandeville, May Pen, and Ocho Rios. With our Montego Bay store, they will come online shortly once we get electricity,” Kerr told Observer Online.

The general manager further noted that the stores did not suffer any major infrastructural damage during the storm which allowed the company to resume operations as soon as services were restored to the other respective areas.

Kerr said that while the company remains committed to growing its presence islandwide, expansion plans are being reassessed following the hurricane.

“We are constantly reviewing the market to identify opportunities for expansion. Obviously, we would love to be in every crevice and corner of Jamaica. But, what would happen is that we have to find the right locations. We have to be able to be in places where persons can easily access our stores,” he said.

“I think the biggest challenge that we have now is that, obviously, after the hurricane, we have to revisit some of the plans that we may have had to ensure that they are viable. That we can still go through with them,” he added.