His name is Jimmy and “he” is a mannequin.

Franchisee John Jones recently moved to Tonganoxie to open the store, which had been closed for a few months. Patrick Kelly previously ran the location.

“I’m really an outside-the-box thinker,” Jones said. “It creates a buzz and it doesn’t cost a thing.”

There’s a motor inside the mannequin that turns the mannequin’s sign near the store at the Stone Creek retail center, 420 Stone Creek Drive.

“I can’t ask somebody to go out in 100- or 20-degree weather and stand out there and do that,” Jones said. “I went ahead and got him. If I don’t want to do it (stand out in the elements), I’m sure not going to ask somebody else to do it.”

Jones said several people have stopped to take pictures with “Jimmy,” a name one of Jones’ seven employees bestowed upon the mannequin.

Jones has been with Domino’s since February 2001 when he started as delivery driver before working his way up through the company.

He was working for the company in central Arkansas with plans to open new locations when the opportunity in Tonganoxie came up.

“I came up here and just fell in love with the town,” Jones said. “Everybody’s so pleasant here … Everybody’s going out of their way to help.”

Jones grew up in San Diego and followed his brother to Arkansas when he was 18. His brother moved to Arkansas as a member of the Air Force. He now operates Domino’s stores in Oklahoma.

Jones said his philosophy is to be efficient in making the pizzas so the stress is not put on the driver to get the food out to delivery customers.

“Let’s take all the stress from the drivers so when they hit the road, they’re hitting the road safely,” Jones said.

Jones said he was focused on improving delivery times.

Last year’s times averaged 38 minutes. Jones said that’s improved to 19 minutes in his first couple weeks on the job.

He said he also likes to go the extra mile for customers.

For instance, someone asked for pepperoni to be placed in the form of a happy face for a 5-year-old’s birthday. Jones fulfilled the request, wrapped a bow around the pizza box and threw in a lava cake because it was the child’s birthday.

The franchisee said he’d like to expand in the Kansas City metro area, but he’s staying busy with the schedule at the Tonganoxie store.

The store is open 10:30 a.m. to midnight Sundays through Thursdays and 10:30 a.m.-1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Those are expanded hours from the location’s previous operation times. Jones said those are Domino’s minimum hours of operation now.

Jones and his wife, Bethany, live near the store in the South Park subdivision.

“It’s kind of nice taking a minute to get to work,” he said.

Bethany is working on her master’s degree in psychology at University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth. And she also helps out at the store when needed.

“She kind of married into it,” Jones said.

They also have a son who will be attending Tonganoxie Elementary School next month.