Some of the best learning happens when you read stories about real people and real companies. Read them for ideas, for lessons, and inspiration. This week’s stories and strategies from real life are about Domino’s, Summit Brewing, Target, boutique trucks, and Chipotle.

From Wharton: How Domino’s Takes Pizza from Tech to Table

“Domino’s Pizza started in the 1960s as three small shops in suburban Michigan and has grown into the second-largest pizza franchise in the United States, behind Pizza Hut. The company has been riding a wave of global success, currently operating in more than 80 countries and delivering more than one million pizzas a day.”

From Neal St. Anthony: Summit Brewing, at 30, finds itself in crowded craft beer market

“More than 30 years ago, a serious home-brewer named Mark Stutrud wrote a letter to the head of the American Brewer’s Association. Stutrud told the guy who represented the likes of titanic Budweiser and Miller that he was thinking about launching a beer company. The response, framed in Stutrud’s office at Summit Brewing in St. Paul, was dismissive.”

From Susan Berfield: Target’s Future Will Be Decided by Kids

“For two decades, Target’s two mainstay kids’ labels were Cherokee and Circo. These togs were noteworthy for their ordinariness, as easy to throw in the shopping cart as granola bars or juice boxes, and for how consistently they sold, accounting for roughly a billion dollars a year in sales. Now, Target is taking what amounts to a great leap of faith for a lumbering, 1,800-store retailer: throwing out what’s worked and opening its sales to the winds of trends and the whims of children.”

Thanks to Smartbrief on Leadership for pointing me to this story

From Lauren Zumbach: Boutiques follow food trucks in taking sales on the road

“People buy tacos, dumplings, minipizzas and meatball subs out of FedEx-style trucks. Why not summery sleeveless tops and handbags? Chicago’s mobile boutique scene is still relatively tiny — the city is aware of just a half dozen trucks. But they’re popping up at a growing number of street markets and festivals and are newly eligible for a temporary business license to legally roam the streets in search of customers, something that could encourage more retailers to consider going mobile.”

From Sarah Halzack: Chipotle’s return to normalcy has not been fast or casual

“The restaurant chain has had to work overtime to win its customers back.”