Link to article in The Chronicle

by Nicole Zappone @TheChronicleCT
Published Sep 29, 2026

WILLIMANTIC — A Mansfield man who has owned Domino’s Pizza on Valley Street in Willimantic since the late 1990s has decided to retire and pass the reins to his son.

Neil Warren, who has raised his family in Mansfield with his wife, Lynn, has decided it is time to retire and move on to a new chapter in their lives.

“I started this after I graduated from college,” Warren said. “Married my wife in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and we moved up here.”

Warren said when he and his wife were dating, they had pizza at least three times a week.

The couple owns 10 Domino’s locations statewide, including locations in Willimantic and Mansfield in eastern Connecticut.

Warren’s son Adam has been taking over.

“He’s been buying me out, so I’m semi-retired already,” Warren said.

For more than six years, the family has been supporting local organizations by making sure hundreds of people in Willimantic can count on pizza every Friday night for dinner.

The store, located at 241 Valley Street, has donated more than 20,000 pizzas to the Covenant Soup Kitchen.

Located across the street from the soup kitchen, Warren said he saw the challenges that people in his community were facing and wanted to help.

“We have donated pizzas to the soup kitchen for 20-something years, but it was sporadic; when they needed something, when they asked us, we would usually just take care of it,” Warren said.

When the pandemic began in 2020, Warren said sales were strong, and they knew how many people in the community were struggling.

“It felt like a privilege to be able to serve the community while so many others were out of work,” Warren said. “Donating food from the restaurant seemed like the obvious thing to do.”

Warren added that today, close to 300 people still benefit from those Friday night pizzas. During the pandemic, it went from 200 to close to 400.

“Once COVID hit, the world changed,” Warren said. “We were looking out our front windows; we saw lines, millions of people waiting for food.”

From that point on, the couple decided to donate pizza every week.

“Neil has shown up for our guests week after week, year after year,” said Kimberly Clark, executive director of Covenant Soup Kitchen. “The pizza is popular, but the impact goes well beyond the food itself. It gives families an opportunity to sit down together, enjoy a meal and feel welcomed and cared for.”

The soup kitchen has served Willimantic and surrounding communities for 45 years and continues to provide more than 800,000 meals each year through its food programs, while also offering other support and essential services to those in need.

Warren and his wife have been working for the past two months to create the Covenant Soup Kitchen Endowment Fund with the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut. The fund will provide a lasting source of financial support for the organization and its mission.

“Neil’s generosity has already helped feed thousands of people,” Clark said. “An endowment could allow this impact to continue for generations.”

To learn more about or to contribute to the Covenant Soup Kitchen Endowment Fund at the Community Foundation, visit cfect.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=6775