Yahoo Finance ‘Eager to get things started.’ New pizza place in downtown Philipsburg in the works
This fall an internationally-known eatery is set to join the ranks of pizza places in Philipsburg — a Domino’s Pizza.
Located at 422 N. Front St. in the heart of downtown Philipsburg, construction on the new location is set to begin early next month, with the tentative opening date set for Nov. 4, according to Domino’s franchisee Sheldon Port.
Port, an area native and franchisee of several other Domino’s across the state, is eager to open the store and has high hopes for this new destination.
“I think that this new location is going to do very well,” Port said. “Philipsburg has been a town that’s been on our radar for quite a while and I’m eager to get things started.”
Despite Port’s optimism for the store, not all of the social media comments about the announcement have been positive.
“I’ve seen a lot of people on Facebook in our comment sections saying that they don’t want another major pizza chain there and that the store isn’t going to do well, and I have to say that I disagree,” Port said. “Yeah, we want to put a slice of Domino’s into the hands of as many people living here as we can, but we also do a lot of fundraising for local, more close-to-home causes too.”
According to Port, he wants his Domino’s to be as involved with the community as it can be, with several of his locations in the past raising thousands of dollars for causes such as nonprofit organization fundraisers, families displaced by fires, local school districts and more.
This new Philipsburg Domino’s location will feature a drive-thru pickup window, and the delivery range for the eatery will be any address within a nine-minute driving time radius, with exceptions possibly being made for those located just outside the radius.
Port is hoping to employ anywhere from 15 to 20 employees at this location, with that number varying later on depending on how busy the location is. Hours for the Domino’s have not been set yet.
Port was also the subject of a lawsuit in 2021, with four Bellefonte Domino’s Pizza employees accusing him of illegally retaining money from a tip jar in the restaurant, not reimbursing drivers for out-of-pocket expenses and improperly posting employment rights notices.
Both Port and the international chain denied the allegations and did not assume liability in the settlement, in which the Bellefonte Domino’s paid nearly $50,000, with $34,300 being paid to the employees.
Aside from this new Philipsburg Domino’s, there are three other Domino’s Pizza locations in Centre County — one in Bellefonte and two in State College.
