Three Domino's locations close shop

By Marijke Rowland
mrowland@modbee.com

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If you live in the Modesto area and you want a Domino's pizza, it's gonna take a little while.

The stores in Modesto, at 1717 Oakdale Road and 1735 Prescott Road, and in Ceres, 1778 Mitchell Road, have closed.

All three were owned by the same franchisee. Domino's Pizza corporate in Michigan was unable to confirm the name of the owner to The Bee in time for publication.

The Oakdale and Mitchell road locations closed in February. The Prescott spot, which had been open since 1985, went out of business in April.

Katie Connor, a public relations associate for Domino's, said she did not know if there were plans to reopen the three closed shops anytime soon.

The closest Domino's to Modesto for speedy pizza lovers is now its Turlock store on Geer Road. The Turlock manager said the store has received several calls from Modesto customers.

The Turlock store won't deliver to Modesto or Ceres; it has a 10-mile delivery range policy.

However, people still can carry out. Just don't be mad if your pizza is cold when you get home.

Elsewhere around the Business Beat:

In Domino's absence, Big City Pizza is happy to fill the pizza void for hungry Modestans.

Opened in December, the pizza place is in Gas City plaza, 1521 Carpenter Road, inside the Valero gas station, next to the Wienerschnitzel.

While the surroundings may be unusual, owner Tony Homsi said he already has a loyal fan base.

"My pizza is a celebration of big cities all over the world," he said. "Almost all of my customers are repeat. I try to create a down-to-earth environment. I grew up with my neighborhood pizza place."

Homsi moved from Hollywood to Modesto seven months ago to open Big City Pizza. But his family has lived and owned restaurants in the Central Valley for more than 20 years.

The pizza shop is Homsi's first restaurant.

His pies, which are a generous 15 inches for large and 18 inches for extra large, are fashioned after the pizzas of well-known cities around the world from Manhattan to Chicago, Rome to Paris. Larges run $8 (cheese or pepperoni) to $18 (Greek).

They are made with from-scratch dough with homemade red or white sauces and other fresh ingredients.

He sells the pizza by the slice or pie and has various specials throughout the week for lunch and dinner. But pizza isn't his only menu item.

Homsi also serves rotisserie chicken with a Lebanese flair, with hummus, garlic sauce and pita bread, and one-pound calzones.

The restaurant has a shared seating area that can accommodate 55 people.

Big City Pizza is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Delivery is available out to Ceres.

For more information, call 576-0966.

Bee staff writer Marijke Rowland can be reached at mrowland@modbee.com or 578-2284.