Domino's Pizza Israel

Domino's Pizza Israel combines a nationwide pizza-delivery business with menu and service features shaped by the Israeli market. Its offerings have included vegan, gluten-free, spelt-flour, and chef-developed pizzas, alongside digital ordering and branch pickup. The company’s official website identifies Elgad Pizza Ltd. as the franchise-holder for Domino's in Israel and operator of the local website and app.[1]

Reported branch counts vary by date: the chain had 62 branches in 2019 and 72 in 2025.[2][3] The company directory displayed 65 branches when accessed for the research and listed outlets in cities and towns including Eilat, Nahariya, Nazareth, Rahat, Jerusalem, Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Be’er Sheva.[4] The chain’s development also reflects a wider Israeli fast-food market in which franchising was described as increasingly popular from the mid-1980s.[5]

The chain’s early growth is documented in newspaper reports from the 1990s. A Ḥadashot headline in August 1992 announced a plan to open 12 additional branches by the end of 1993, although the available page does not provide the article’s full text.[6] Accounts differ on the start date: a Ynet article marking the chain’s 30th anniversary says it began operating in Israel in 1989.[2] A separate Ynet timeline and the company’s Ramat Aviv branch page identify 1990 as the year the first Israeli branch opened.[7][8]

A 1999 U.S. commercial guide named Domino’s among the fast-food companies with a strong presence in Israel. It said U.S. companies held more than half of the country’s fast-food franchising market and noted that many Israeli franchises were operated across multiple locations by a main franchisee; it did not specify Domino’s own arrangement at the time.[5]

The Israeli franchise later underwent financial distress. In 2003, Omni Food Brands, then the franchise-holder, reported that Bank Hapoalim had rejected a restructuring plan and declined to reschedule NIS 16 million in debt. The company reported an equity deficit of NIS 11 million at the end of June 2003; Domino’s Pizza Israel recorded a NIS 3.8 million loss on NIS 19 million in sales during the first half of that year, compared with a NIS 1.4 million loss on NIS 26.5 million in the first half of 2002.[9]

In 2004, three Domino’s insiders—Dani Gold, Asaf Greenberg, and Yossi Elbaz—bought the chain from a receiver and restructured it, closing loss-making branches and reducing the network from 29 locations to 22. Ynet reported a purchase price of NIS 5.5 million, payable over eight years, and said Domino’s waived a $250,000 franchise payment for the buyers. Calcalist instead reported a price of NIS 6 million and equal one-third stakes for the three buyers.[10][11]

Greenberg became CEO and later left the Israeli operation; Calcalist reported that he sold his stake to Elbaz and Gold in December 2009 after legal disputes with them. The Ynet account said the chain employed 500 people after the restructuring and that head-office staff had fallen from 16 to nine, including the three buyers.[10][11] In a later interview, Elbaz described net sales rising from NIS 34 million when the business was taken over from the receiver to NIS 142 million. He also said sales increased by more than 30% after online ordering was introduced.[12]

Vegan pizza became one of the chain’s most distinctive local offerings. In December 2013, Domino’s Israel introduced a pizza made with a soy-based cheese substitute developed for the chain by Teva Deli. It was available in most of the company’s 50 branches, and reporting described it as the first pizza with a vegan cheese substitute offered alongside regular pizzas by a large pizza chain in Israel.[13]

A 2014 report called the product a global first for Domino’s and said the chain had sold about 300,000 vegan pizzas by the time of the Tel Aviv Vegan Fest, where its stand was the fair’s most visited.[14] In 2015, the company’s marketing vice president said sales had exceeded half a million in the previous year.[15] A 2016 account reported more than 500,000 vegan pizzas sold in 2015 and said Israel was the only place where Domino’s offered vegan pizza topped with non-dairy cheese.[16] These figures refer to different reporting periods and should not be treated as identical measures.

The menu continued to broaden. By 2017, the chain was selling gluten-free pizza in all 60 branches and also offered a vegan version with a cheese substitute. It warned that the gluten-free pizza was prepared with separate utensils but baked in a shared oven and in a work environment containing gluten, so traces could be present.[17] The company’s current gluten-free information similarly cautions that its preparation environment is not gluten-free and advises people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity to consult a medical professional.[18]

A 2018 account described a premium line developed with chefs Assaf Granit and Uri Navon, a tasting meal, and an app-based self-collection service allowing customers to select a branch and pickup time. A later report listed vegan, gluten-free, and spelt-flour pizzas among the chain’s products, as well as limited-edition meat and vegetarian pizzas for Eurovision in Israel.[8][2]

In July 2023, Domino’s introduced a temporary three-pizza line called Oh Mammi, developed with chefs Nira and Ruthie Rousso and featuring summer produce from Israeli agriculture. The Jerusalem Post described tomato-, mushroom-, and grape-based versions, priced at NIS 86.90, with the line planned for five or six months. The commentary noted that although the ingredients were kosher, the chain did not hold a kashrut certificate because some other items on its menu were not kosher.[19]

In February 2024, the chain opened strictly kosher branches at the Tel Aviv Port and in Givatayim, with plans reported for two more mehadrin branches in the Sharon area. The openings were presented as part of a broader effort by Israeli food businesses to make food accessible to soldiers observing higher mehadrin standards.[20] The company’s kosher-pizza page lists options including family and personal pizzas, gluten-free and spelt-flour pizzas, vegan pizza, sandwiches, sides, and desserts, and identifies kosher locations from Ashdod to Kiryat Bialik.[21]

Company branch pages describe a kosher outlet in Petah Tikva’s Kfar Ganim as the second kosher Domino’s branch worldwide, following the Shtampfer branch, and an Em Hamoshavot branch as the third.[22][23] A separate company page describes the Tel Aviv Port’s Hayarkon branch as converted to mehadrin status, with certification attributed to Badatz Beit Yosef.[24] The worldwide first, second, and third claims are the company’s own descriptions and are not independently corroborated in the material reviewed.

In January 2026, the chain introduced Domino’s Thick, a 13-inch pizza made with fresh dough developed for the product. It was presented as a departure from the thin pizzas with which the Israeli chain had previously been identified; listed prices were NIS 78.90 for delivery and NIS 63.10 for digital self-pickup.[25]

Digital ordering became a prominent part of the chain’s business. In January 2009, Domino’s Israel introduced Pizza Tracker on its website, allowing customers to follow an order through five stages: placement, preparation, baking, boxing, and dispatch with a delivery person. The service was offered across all 28 Israeli stores for orders placed either online or by phone, with the local implementation estimated at about NIS 200,000.[26]

In a 2012 interview, CEO Yossi Elbaz said the company introduced online ordering and tracking, followed by iPhone and Android apps. He reported that digital orders rose from 11% of sales to 54% during an online campaign, then settled at around 40%; he also said one million digital transactions accounted for 52% of the business’s NIS 142 million in net sales.[12] By 2018, more than 60% of orders arriving at branches were reportedly being placed through the company’s app or website.[8]

The chain extended ordering beyond phones and computers in 2018 through a partnership with Partner TV. Customers could build a pizza, track an order, or repeat a previous order using a television set-top box and remote control. At the time, the company had 63 branches and promoted a 30-minute delivery commitment as a feature of its Israeli service.[27]

Delivery operations have also shaped business decisions. In 2007, the company had 23 stores and planned to keep almost all open for home delivery during Passover, though it would not sell pizzas in the stores during the holiday. CEO Assaf Greenberg forecast a 50% increase in sales during Passover and a 30% increase beforehand, and the chain added delivery staff to meet anticipated demand.[28]

In 2025, Calcalist reported a 20% discount on takeaway orders as an alternative to home delivery, intended to help reduce courier wages and scooter-maintenance costs. The report said Domino’s had 900 couriers in its independent delivery operation and a shortage of 300, while its work with Wolt represented a negligible share of activity. A separate June account described the discount as applying to digital orders collected at a branch and listed additional exclusions; the two accounts differed on which items were excluded.[29][30]

Reports in March 2021 described a deal with Israeli manufacturer Blitz Motors to shift Domino’s Israel’s delivery operation to electric scooters. The agreement was valued at NIS 15.6 million and included three years of servicing. Globes reported that 320 scooters had been bought and delivered by September 2020, with another 130 due by the end of the first quarter of 2021, for a planned fleet of 450.[31][32]

The reports described Israel as the first country where Domino’s operated with an exclusively electric delivery fleet. The company estimated that the change would save 702 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.[31][32] In 2025, Calcalist reported that the company had launched a redesigned website and app in May, after older versions had become outdated, as it competed in a crowded pizza and delivery market.[3]

Domino’s Israel became notable within the international chain for local menu and ordering innovations. The vegan pizza introduced in 2013 was later described as the first such offering in the global chain, while a 2016 account said Israel was then the only market offering Domino’s pizza with non-dairy cheese and reported more than 500,000 vegan pizzas sold in 2015.[13][16]

Digital ordering also became unusually important to the business. In 2012, Elbaz said digital transactions accounted for 52% of NIS 142 million in net sales; by 2018, about 62% of orders arriving at branches came through the app or website.[12][8] Reports on the electric-scooter program likewise described Israel as the first country where Domino’s operated a delivery fleet made up exclusively of electric scooters.[31][32]

In April 2014, employees protested in support of their right to unionize. Around 20 people demonstrated outside CEO Yossi Elbaz’s home in Kiryat Motzkin, while several dozen gathered outside the Tel Aviv Port branch. Employee spokesperson Tomer Shmukler cited complaints about pensions, overtime, seniority-related rights, and recuperation pay, and alleged that branch signs discouraged union membership and managers had prevented some union members from entering stores. Workers also raised concerns about delivery-moped condition and working in all weather without suitable clothing.[33]

Domino’s said it was meeting with the Histadrut Labor Federation about the complaints, while disputing whether a workers’ representative had established authority to represent them.[33] The reported allegations and the company’s response are distinct accounts; the available material does not establish the outcome of the dispute.

In February 2019, a video showing rodents around dough or flour at the Merkaz HaCarmel branch in Haifa led to its temporary closure. The Health Ministry inspection was reported to have found serious problems and described the building as being in poor condition; the branch’s owners were summoned to a hearing concerning a closure order.[34][35] CEO Yossi Elbaz apologized and said the branch would not reopen until the problem had been addressed. Domino’s confirmed the video was authentic and said it had been filmed from outside while the branch was closed.[35]

A company spokesperson separately attributed the pest problem to an “unprecedented plague” connected with nearby Carmelit subway renovations and said the municipality had been contacted.[34] The cited reports do not establish the cause of the infestation.

An August 2014 cyber-intelligence report described Hamas cyber activity that included a hack of Domino’s Israel’s Facebook page. The page was used to publish posts claiming that Hamas would launch thousands of rockets together toward Israel; the report did not specify when the incident occurred.[36]