Hundreds feast as pizza giant opens dine-in restaurant
Pizza lovers enjoyed a slice of the action as a new Domino’s dinein restaurant had its grand opening.
Hundreds of people queued up outside the new base in Loose to claim their free cheesy treat as pizzas were on offer to the first 250 punters through the door.
The event proved so popular, however, that 300 people turned out – and the store gave them all free food.
The restaurant in Boughton Parade is the first of the company’s branches in Kent to offer a sitdown eating experience, with space for 86 diners, alongside its traditional delivery and collection services.
Vouchers worth £200 were dished out on Saturday, while a child won a competition to scoop their height in pizzas.
It replaces the previous Spar store, which closed in May 2015, with building work starting in May.
Ilona Paožalyt, store manager at Domino’s Loose, said: “We were meant to give away 250 pizzas, but we gave away more because there was such a long queue outside. People were really excited about the opening.
“The actual grand opening went so well, there were so many happy people, and the team worked so hard.”
This new dinein option does not signal a move away from its traditional takeaway roots for Domino’s, however, as Ian Duxbury, operations manager for the Maidstone branches, pointed out.
“We are never going to move away from deliveries. However, we wanted to give a service and do something different, and the site became available in Maidstone,” he said.
The store will deliver to areas including Coxheath, Boughton Monchelsea, Downswood and Tovil.
It will not cover central Maidstone or Barming as they are already serviced by other branches.