HispanicBusiness

ANN ARBOR, Mich. /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Al Daniels is not your typical business owner. He is a military veteran, a philanthropist and someone who is eager to give back to his community. Daniels is a prime example of franchisees that Domino's Pizza is looking to recruit as part of its "Delivering the Dream" program. This program, coupled with Daniel's inspiration to succeed, led to the grand opening of his Domino's Pizza store in Brunswick, Ga., on Dec. 19, 2007.

Domino's Pizza's "Delivering the Dream" program, in partnership with American Equipment Finance, LLC, grants financial assistance to elite minority team members so they may build their own Domino's stores. Daniels was one of the first franchisees to benefit from the "Delivering the Dream" program and paid a franchise fee of just $5K, one of the lowest fees in the industry.

"There are two things that make Al special: his passion for the business and his desire to make a difference in his community," said Domino's Director of Franchise Recruiting & Sales, Mike Mettler.

To Daniels, those two traits go hand-in-hand. He chose to pursue franchising with Domino's Pizza after a military career because owning a store would give him a vehicle to positively impact his community.

Daniels has made a big impression in the short time since he opened his store. He grew sales to about $14,000 per week -- with 96-percent of placed orders out-the-door in 20 minutes or less.

"The key is my wife and I don't have to be wealthy to be happy," said Al who abundantly donates to charities and families in need. "All we need to do is sustain our life and we can take the extra and put it back into the community."

Daniels and his wife, Mel, are serious about their charitable endeavors. After spending 22 years in the U.S. Navy, Daniels decided to donate his entire military pension to cancer research organizations in honor of his late father, Alkina Daniels.

Since opening in December, their store is already deeply involved with fundraising and donations to community schools, churches and non-profit groups.

"I really, truly believe no person should go without," Daniels says. "You can't save every person, but if a person is hungry ... we can afford to feed them. We try to find the community's needs and then set them up with a way to successfully get those needs filled."

When he started considering post-military career options, Daniels reflected back on his days as a Domino's delivery driver in the mid-1980s. In 2005, he went to work for a four-store franchisee in Georgia part-time while concluding his time at the Naval Submarine Base in Kings Bay "knowing exactly what I was getting into."

His plan is to own 20 Domino's stores throughout Georgia and northern Florida within 10 years. He's already targeting fellow military veterans to bring into his organization as it grows.

"My goal is to sell more pizza to more people in more places. That's my goal and I'm going to make it happen," he says. "I want to make a company as great as this one greater. I get so excited. It's just not going to stop."

For more information on Domino's Delivering the Dream program, go to www.dominosbiz.com or call (877) 921-TEAM (option 8).