New Mexico local and Domino’s largest franchisee receives high honor

Thin crust Ultimate Pepperoni Feast, with added sausage, mushrooms and green chile.

This is the go-to order of Domino’s largest franchisee owner in the nation, Brian Bailey.

From his beginnings in Alamogordo as a delivery driver, he still gets excited about a hot, fresh Domino’s pizza four decades later.

This year, Bailey received the 2025 Gold Franny Award, one of Domino’s highest national honors. The award recognizes franchisees for operational excellence, community impact and outstanding leadership.

“Being an entrepreneur is full of taking risks,” Bailey said. “The success people see now is built on years of sacrifice, learning and resilience.”

Being a multi-store owner wasn’t the future Bailey always pictured for himself.

Studying to become an electronics engineer in Phoenix, Bailey dreamed of working for Texas Instruments, NASA or even SpaceX. However, the lack of job prospects after college and lingering student loan debt drove him to answer a Domino’s ad in the newspaper as a delivery driver at 24 years old.

“What started as a temporary job turned into a lifelong career that brought me stability, purpose, and pride,” Bailey said.

His interview with the manager at the Alamogordo location, who was on his way to becoming an owner himself, sold Bailey on the possibilities of growth within the company.

So, in 1985 his journey to being an entrepreneur began.

According to Domino’s website, the company currently promotes from within, so 95% of franchise owners started out as delivery drivers or part-time pizza makers.

Bailey collected his fair share of experience on his climb to the top.

He recalled a time he delivered to a rural address during a snowstorm. Domino’s was still open and receiving orders despite dangerous road conditions and low visibility.

“I probably should’ve turned around, but I was determined to get that pizza there,” Bailey said. “Halfway down the road, my truck slid into a ditch, and there was no cell service or traffic. Just me, the snow, and a hot pizza.”

Still, Bailey refused to give up.

He grabbed the pizza and walked the last half mile to the customer’s house. He said the customers were surprised and grateful he made it, and they returned the favor by giving him a big tip and a place to warm-up.

“Pushing through those early years [was difficult]—juggling long hours, financial uncertainty, and the pressure of building something from the ground up,” Bailey said. “There were moments when I questioned if I was making the right choices, especially when things didn’t go as planned.”

When he started, Bailey spent significant time at both the Alamogordo and Las Cruces locations, which were then corporate owned.

Moving up the ranks, Bailey went on to purchase the very stores he started at along with relocating the Missouri Avenue location to a spot across from the New Mexico State University’s Pan Am Center and establishing two additional locations off Highway 70 west.

Bailey, 63, has expanded his reach across five states and now owns 158 stores. His operational excellence earned him Domino’s 2025 Gold Franny Award.

“One of my early mentors, Zig Ziglar, said something that’s always stuck with me,” Bailey said. “‘You can get anything in life you want, as long as you help enough other people get what they want.’”

Bailey uses his position as a multi-store owner to not only give back to the community but foster the same growth for others as he experienced.

Along with Bailey, Las Cruces manager, Jessica Vizarraga, has been recognized as Domino’s Manager of the Year, and Elizabeth Moore has earned the title of Domino’s Supervisor of the Year.

“If my story can inspire even one person to chase their dream, take a chance, or believe in themselves—that’s the real reward,” Bailey said.