Domino’s Pizza Ripped Off Portland Anarchists’ Scheme to Fill Potholes. The Anarchists Aren’t Impressed.

A corporate branding campaign is the sincerest form of flattery.

Earlier this week, Domino's Pizza announced its plans to help improve the nation's infrastructure by filling in potholes.

The company's Paving for Pizza grants are currently being doled out to various U.S. cities as a way to "save your good pizza from these bad roads."

If the DIY road-improvement scheme sounds familiar, it's because it is.

Last February, a posse of Portland anarchists began taking it upon themselves to fix the city's potholes. On its Facebook page, the group, which calls itself Portland Anarchist Road Care, claims its mission is to "take the state of the roads of Portland into the hands of the people."

"State neglect has caused the streets to fall into disrepair," it says. "We will fix the streets."

Clad in black masks and towing bags of asphalt, the group roams the city fixing streets. It's a plan they say Domino's is using as a PR stunt.

When asked by Portland author and former WW reporter Corey Pein on Twitter whether the pizza company stole their idea, the group responded: "You can't own an idea, so they didn't steal anything, but fuck Domino's, it's obviously a marketing ploy and not actually care for the community."

According to photos of potholes Domino's has filled so far, the company isn't aiming for subtlety—painting every pothole filled with a logo and the phrase "Oh yes we did."

Portland Anarchists Road Care says the company is only focused on profit margins—and making pizza of debatable quality.

"I mean," they told Pein, "they do steal the vast majority of the value of the labor of their employees."

"Indeed," Pein responded, "shitty pizza too."

"Lol," the anarchists agreed. "The worst."