N E WS
Stephen used to deliver pizzas. Now he's a
key part of the Racz Group leadership team.
“It had only been open two weeks
and Mike was working when I handed
my CV in. I took a job as a part-time
driver while I decided what to do with
my life. I didn’t have a clue! I’d done a
BTEC in sports science at college but
where do you go with that?”
During 18 months of Stephen
delivering pizzas, Mike could see he
had much more to offer.
“People with a sporting background
are generally good at managing
teams,” said Stephen, who is also a
business partner in two of the group’s
Anytime Fitness gyms.
“The job required energy, drive,
passion, commitment and bonding
with people – all those qualities you
want in a footballer. Everyone had a
common goal and the standards were
so high. I wanted to be better and
I learned the basic skills of making
pizza.”
Promotion to assistant manager
was as far as Stephen wanted to go
in the business back then – but Mike
had other ideas!
“When he opened a new Domino’s
in Stockton he asked me to go as
manager. I didn’t want to, but he said,
‘Well, you have to!’. He asked what
would make me go and I gave him a
few requests, not thinking he’d agree
to my terms.
“But sure enough, he said, ‘Done!’
I thought, ‘What have I committed
to now?’ I gave it a go and learnt a
lot, being responsible for about 40
people. I was 23 and still playing
football.
“At first you continue like you did
as a colleague but soon it became
apparent that you need to have
boundaries and draw back and my
role changed. It was great to see
myself coming on – and I was able to
help the people around me as well.”
Stephen continued to put the
lessons he had learned from Mike into
practice and the store became the
group’s busiest, a title it still boasts
today.
“I was just a driver, somebody from
the street who knew nothing. But
Mike would give me orders to make
and I would deliver them and come
back and he’d give me another.
“That brought me on and I did the
same with staff who I thought had
potential. It’s all about giving people
opportunities.
“Back then Domino’s was always a
way for people to make some extra
money until they found the next thing.
“Now people come here and see it
as their career, which is great to see,
but I still take great pride in finding
people in stores and making them
something – spotting a genuinely nice
person who has the company at heart
and who doesn’t even realise their
own potential. That’s why I do what
I do.
“Whether people come in as
drivers or senior managers with lots
of experience, that opportunity is still
there if people commit and want the
best. We are all driven and we need
people who share that. Mike is a great
advocate of nothing being impossible.
“Integrity is also important here
and the only person who ever really
knows if you have integrity is you.
It’s about the small details and doing
the right thing when nobody else is
watching.
“I remember Boro’s Academy
manager Dave Parnaby talking to
us about cutting our toenails and
cleaning our boots. He said, ‘If you’re
not looking after your feet, you’ll
never be a footballer. Your feet are
your livelihood!’
“It’s the same with my work – if I’m
not in uniform, clean and tidy, I won’t
go in and I expect the same of my
staff. It’s about doing the right thing.”
Serving the best pizza is another
key ingredient of the Racz story.
“I’d challenge anyone to find a
better tasting pizza. I’ve been eating
them for 14 years and I don’t get sick
of it – last week I had one for dinner
three nights on the bounce!”
The group recently opened its
29th Domino’s, on Ormesby Road in
Middlesbrough. The group also has
15 Costa Coffee stores, 18 Anytime
Fitness gyms, and interests in Black
Olive cocktail bars, entertainment
space specialist Mancave project and
social media firm Viral Effect.
There are more than 1,000
employees and many of the senior
staff started out as drivers or instore
workers alongside Stephen, head of
training Chris Dring, area manager
David Kitching and chief operating
officer Laura Tarran.
“We began with one Domino’s
store 14 years ago and now we have
29 throughout Yorkshire and the
North-East.
“But we don’t want to stop – we
want to get to 50, 60, 70, however
many we can because that’s Mike’s
ambition and the company’s ambition
as well.”
The voice of business in the Tees region | 61