Excavation starts for Domino’s Pizza at Baker Towne Square in Baker City

Excavation has begun for a Domino’s Pizza at Baker Towne Square, giving Baker City one of its clearest signs yet that the long-planned commercial buildout north of Campbell Street is moving from paper to dirt.

The project sits on a 0.82-acre parcel on the east side of the access street leading to Albertsons, in a part of town that has been steadily shifting into a larger shopping node. The Baker City-County Planning Department received the Domino’s application in August 2025, and the proposal calls for a building of nearly 6,500 square feet with a drive-thru, two retail spaces and a separate space for another restaurant.

Kara Miller, Baker City’s community development director, said the excavation now underway is for Domino’s only. That matters because the site has been talked about as part of a broader Baker Towne Square buildout, not just a single fast-food stop.

The property is owned by Pat Farmer of Ridgefield, Washington, through PHJG LLC. PHJG LLC bought the parcel in May 2025 from Baker Towne Square LLC, which is owned by Baker City developer Greg Sackos. Just south of the Domino’s parcel, a separate Starbucks project has been planned on 0.91 acres. That proposal called for a 2,420-square-foot coffee shop with a drive-thru.

The two projects have moved through parallel early steps. Representatives for Starbucks and Domino’s held pre-application meetings in March 2025, and the city has said the commercial zoning likely allows the proposals to be handled through site design review instead of a full planning commission review. Darren Dickerhoff, the Corvallis-based applicant tied to the Starbucks effort, has said he still wants to pursue the project, though timing remains uncertain.

The north-side activity comes as the Campbell Street retail corridor is also adjusting to a major loss. Safeway’s Baker City store at 1205 Campbell St. was scheduled to close on or before May 25, 2025, and a state WARN notice listed 82 associates assigned to that store. With the Safeway site in transition, Albertsons now stands as the immediate grocery anchor in the area, adding weight to the idea that Baker Towne Square is becoming a more important stop for daily traffic and quick-service business.

Baker City once had a Domino’s on Main Street, but it closed more than a decade ago. This new project, paired with the planned Starbucks next door, suggests the city’s chain-restaurant growth is concentrating more heavily on the Campbell Street side than downtown. That shift carries added significance in a city of 10,099 people in the 2020 census, estimated at 10,135 in 2024, where even a modest increase in commercial tenants can reshape where residents shop, eat and drive. Baker County’s economic-development materials have long emphasized private-sector investment as a growth driver, and Baker Towne Square is now becoming a visible test of that strategy on the ground.