Some states are known for having bad roads, like Rhode Island. Studies show this is one of the worst places to drive cars, trucks, and SUVs due to the poor conditions of the streets. But beyond having sympathy for Rhode Island drivers, do you remember when Domino’s Pizza had its Paving for Pizza program to help fill potholes? The pizza company accepted nominations from all 50 states and, surprisingly, made good on its promises.

What was the Domino’s ‘Paving for Pizza’ program?

Before the world fell apart, Domino’s Pizza developed a campaign called Paving for Pizza. The tagline was “Don’t Let Bad Potholes Ruin Good Pizza!” 2018 was an exciting time full of pizza and potholes, which meant this match was made in heaven. Domino’s was, self-implied, “the largest pizza company in the world based on global retail sales” and had some big plans ahead.

People complained that potholes ruined the “freshly made pizzas” while on the way home. Domino’s asked that pizza fans nominate the best pothole in their town that could be repaired by Domino’s. And you know what? A lot of people nominated potholes.

Since 2018, has Domino’s made good on its pizza paving promises? According to many sources and Domino’s Pizza itself, the company did make good on its promise to fill potholes. Domino’s hired crews of workers, paid for supplies, and even donated some pizzas to get roads fixed around America.

Was Domino’s Pizza ‘Paving for Pizza’ program a success?

You might be as surprised as I am that Domino’s Pizza’s ‘Paving for Pizza’ program was quite successful. For instance, in Athens, Georgia, Domino’s helped pave 150 square yards of road with 12 crew members over three hours. Stephen Bailey, the program development coordinator of Athlens at the time, said, “We were intrigued by this unique partnership. This was certainly a new type of opportunity for us.”

In Des Moines, Iowa, Domino’s fixed 200 potholes! The paving report shows that the pizza company repaired 40 roads, used 11 tons of asphalt, and worked over 270 hours with 12 crew members. Domino’s also supplied 25 pizzas for the crew members. These potholes can damage cars even if you aren’t going very fast, and pizza stands no chance if that happens.

Similarly, in Bartonville, Texas, Domino’s fixed eight potholes in eight hours and repaired three roads. Milford, Delaware, had a few more holes to fix. The Pizza People fixed 40 potholes and 10 roads over 10 hours. Domino’s actually called city leaders in Milwaukee to offer $5,000. That was enough to buy 50 tons of asphalt to fill 200 potholes.

Domino’s made good on its promise of better roads

Domino’s Pizza still has the Paving for Pizza map live on the website, where you can click on each state to see what improvements were made. Some cities, like Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, were given a $5,000 grant to fix potholes.

According to an old Eater article, Mayor Michael Brown of Grand Forks, North Dakota, expressed his appreciation for the grant. “The concept of getting pizza to its destination safely and efficiently resonates with our community,” Brown noted.

Domino’s received 137,000 nominations from around the country, and it helped out in all 50 states. The company even fixed a massive pothole in Hilo, Hawaii, through a $5,000 donation. While there is no proof that the fixed potholes made pizzas arrive safer, the program seemed to benefit both sides.

In our research for this piece, we couldn’t find many negatives surrounding the program (besides the fact that a pizza company had to fix public roads). Did you have a pothole fixed in your town? Did it hold up? Let us know in the comments if you have any Domino’s potholes nearby.