HOULTON, Maine — A national chain eatery is returning to Houlton as Domino’s officials announced last week that they planned to open a new store in the Shiretown.
Lee and Amanda Prior of Rockland announced they would be opening their sixth Domino’s franchise at 127 North St., in the former Amato’s Restaurant. The couple also own Domino’s franchises in Presque Isle, Rockland, Old Town, Bangor and Waterville.
“My wife has become a huge part of this brand and in January of this year she was able to fulfill a big dream of hers by bringing Domino’s back to Aroostook County,” Lee said. “She was born and raised in Ashland. The Presque Isle store has been a huge success and we’re very excited to build our sixth location in Houlton.”
Lee Prior started with Domino’s in 2001 as a 19-year-old, part-time/minimum wage employee at a location in Rockland. He worked his way up through the system becoming a shift manager, then an assistant manager and in 2004 became general manager of the Rockland location.
“When the owners of the store – Pat and Beth Provost – approached me about the possibility of buying the store from them, I was extremely nervous, scared and excited about the possibilities,” Prior said. “In 2009 I flew out to Domino’s headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan for the Franchise Development Program where I spent two weeks taking classes and interviewing to be a Domino’s franchisee.”
Prior, with financial assistance from his father, was able to purchase the Rockland store in 2010. After a successful year and half run, he opened his second store in Old Town which was built from the ground up to service the University of Maine. In 2013, they expanded by purchasing the existing Bangor and Waterville locations.
The Houlton location has served as a number of retail business over the years and actually was home to a Domino’s in the late 1980s. Most recently, it was an Amato’s. Prior said he has been asked by many individuals why he would open stores in both Presque Isle and Houlton where others in the past have failed.
“In Presque Isle we also went into a closed Amato’s location and had many questions about why we thought we could be successful where others were not,” Prior said. “The same answers apply. The brand is considerably different than it was in the 1980’s. Over the past several years we have reinvented the brand, starting in 2009 with an overhaul of our pizza recipe.”
“The biggest doubts came when we announced we were coming to Presque Isle, where multiple people literally asked me ‘Why would you build a store in the middle of a potato field?’” he continued. “And even those who are very close to me cautioned against it. The community of Presque Isle has embraced us and the store has been a very big success.”
The Houlton location will initially hire between 20-25 full- and part-time employees. The company will also offer delivery within a 9-mile radius.
“I am extremely excited to build and operate in Houlton,” he said. “Our success isn’t going to be dictated by whether or not someone else from Domino’s, Amatos, or anyone else did well or not. Domino’s success in Houlton will be determined by the hard work of our team. If we provide a great product, great service and take care of the community I am sure we will do great. This is not a test or a trial run, we are committed to making this work and we will be in Houlton for many years to come.”
The Priors will be leasing the Houlton location from VIP Inc. and will be renovating the building into one of the new style “Domino’s Pizza Theater,” which provides some seating and an opportunity for those ordering to watch their pizza being made in front of them. The couple has targeted an opening date of Dec. 21.
