PHOTO PROVIDED Zonda Gregory and her husband Jim, at right, stand next to Domino’s Pizza founder, Tom Monaghan, at a meeting for Domino’s franchise owners in Las Vegas not too long after the couple opened their flagship business here in Lock Haven. PHOTO PROVIDED Zonda Gregory and her husband Jim, at right, stand next to Domino’s Pizza founder, Tom Monaghan, at a meeting for Domino’s franchise owners in Las Vegas not too long after the couple opened their flagship business here in Lock Haven.

LOCK HAVEN — When you’ve been in business for 20 years, you’ve seen a lot, you’ve done alot, you’ve learned a lot … and of course, you’ve worked with a lot of people.

Jim and Zonda Gregory can attest to that, with this year marking two decades as Domino’s Pizza franchise owners.

They say they owe their success to their workers, to Domino’s work culture and support, but Jim has special praise for his wife, saying, “None of this would have possible without my wife, Zonda. Her work ethic, patience and understating have been invaluable.”

The Gregorys are celebrating the anniversary with specials running all week long, plus events at their Lock Haven flagship store at 203 N. Jay St. in downtown Lock Haven. There will be games, a magician, balloons and more on Friday from 4 to 7 p.m.

The games will be under tents set up in the grassy area next to Domino’s.

Magician Tony Guerriero will make visitors laugh with his magic and tricks.

And, said Jim, “We will also have Lock Haven Domino’s first customer from Oct. 1, 1997, Terry Williams, stop by.” Also visiting will be Mike Flanagan of the Clinton County Economic Partnership, who worked with Jim on starting the Domino’s here, and Lock Haven University students will also be on hand, according to Leah Frederick, office manager.

Also to mark the occasion, Jim and Zonda have developed a near seven-minute video chronicling the construction of the Lock Haven Domino’s and expansion of their frachises to Dubois, Clearfield, Clarion and Jersey Shore. It’s available online on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcNWUXQ0–tU&feature=youtu.be.

Being a Domino’s franchise owner “has been great,” Jim said, but admits that “we had struggles in the early years.”

That struggle mostly involved how Domino’s business formula has evolved and due to the rise of technology.

“Some years ago … when demand was great, corporate said ‘thou shalt’ and we did!” Gregory remembers. “Shortly before I joined Domino’s, everything was done by hand … from writing the tickets to adding up sales at the end of the day. Then came the early computer version when I started in 1997. Since then, the company has gone ballistic with their investment in technology.”

Jim became a franchisee under Domino’s founder, Tom Monaghan.

“I remember Tom Monaghan, who is a religious man. His whole philosophy was just two rules: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and be prepared for the rush. If you’re ready, you know what you’re doing. Our motto here is, ‘Product and Service.'”

Monaghan ultimately sold the chain to Bain Capital Inc., and Jim credits Bane and its leaders with growing the brand and its business.

“All of our machines are downloaded daily … all to corporate and believe me, they run some real algorithms. Through that steady work, they know what to advertise and when, etc. And from online ordering to tracking, they’re literally investing billions into their franchises so we can keep improving,” he added.

It’s that investment, that commitment to serving customers, that has motivated Jim all along, he said.

Along those same lines, Jim said a ton of credit also goes to his long-time operations manager, Greg Lightner.

“We are blessed with an excellent operations manager, Greg Lightner, a local boy who Zonda discovered,” Jim said. “One day, Zonda went to Dunkin Donuts and met Greg who working there. As her story goes, she pulled him out of the window and he started working for us!”

Lightner has been with the Gregorys for the last 16 years, and was manager of their Clarion franchise when he was just 18.

What’s next? Jim says the couple and their employees will just keep working hard.