diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 9e0b7c57..eb26126c 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -58,6 +58,8 @@ services:
       dockerfile: dynamo.Dockerfile
     ports:
       - "8000:8000"
+    volumes:
+      - ./dynamo-data:/db
     networks:
       - sync
   redis:
diff --git a/dynamo.Dockerfile b/dynamo.Dockerfile
index b97a9e13..f7f5d6e6 100644
--- a/dynamo.Dockerfile
+++ b/dynamo.Dockerfile
@@ -1,32 +1,19 @@
-ARG DB_LOCATION=/home/dynamodblocal/db
-FROM amazon/dynamodb-local:2.6.1 AS install
-
-USER root
-RUN yum -y install awscli
+FROM amazon/dynamodb-local:2.6.1
 
 USER dynamodblocal
 ENV AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=GOSYNC
 ENV AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=GOSYNC
-ARG AWS_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:8000
-ARG AWS_REGION=us-west-2
-ARG DB_LOCATION
-ARG TABLE_NAME=client-entity-dev
 
-COPY schema/dynamodb/ .
-RUN mkdir -p ${DB_LOCATION} && \
-    java -jar DynamoDBLocal.jar -sharedDb -dbPath ${DB_LOCATION} & \
-    DYNAMO_PID=$! && \
-    sleep 15 && \
-    aws dynamodb create-table --cli-input-json file://table.json \
-    --endpoint-url ${AWS_ENDPOINT} --region ${AWS_REGION} && \
-    aws dynamodb update-time-to-live --table-name client-entity-dev \
-    --time-to-live-specification "Enabled=true, AttributeName=ExpirationTime" \
-    --endpoint-url http://localhost:8000 && \
-    kill $DYNAMO_PID
+COPY schema/dynamodb/ /schema/
 
-FROM amazon/dynamodb-local:2.6.1
+VOLUME ["/db"]
 
-ARG DB_LOCATION
-COPY --chown=dynamodblocal:dynamodblocal --from=install ${DB_LOCATION} /db
+USER root
+RUN dnf -y install awscli util-linux \
+ && dnf clean all \
+ && rm -rf /var/cache/dnf
+COPY dynamo.entrypoint.sh /entrypoint.sh
+RUN chmod +x /entrypoint.sh
 
+ENTRYPOINT ["/entrypoint.sh"]
 CMD ["-jar", "DynamoDBLocal.jar", "-sharedDb", "-dbPath", "/db"]
diff --git a/dynamo.entrypoint.sh b/dynamo.entrypoint.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9cf8856a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dynamo.entrypoint.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -e
+
+DB_FILE="/db/shared-local-instance.db"
+AWS_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:8000
+DYNAMO_USER="dynamodblocal"
+AWS_REGION=us-west-2
+TABLE_NAME=client-entity-dev
+
+echo "Fixing ownership of /db to $DYNAMO_USER user"
+chown -R $DYNAMO_USER:$DYNAMO_USER /db
+
+if [ ! -f "$DB_FILE" ]; then
+  echo "No DB file found. Bootstrapping schema..."
+  echo "Starting DynamoDBLocal as $DYNAMO_USER..."
+
+  su $DYNAMO_USER -c "java $*" &
+  DYNAMO_PID=$!
+
+  echo "Waiting for DynamoDBLocal to become available..."
+  until su $DYNAMO_USER -c "curl -s '$AWS_ENDPOINT' > /dev/null"; do
+    sleep 0.5
+  done
+
+  echo "Creating table from /schema/table.json..."
+  su $DYNAMO_USER -c "aws dynamodb create-table --cli-input-json file:///schema/table.json \
+    --endpoint-url $AWS_ENDPOINT --region $AWS_REGION"
+
+  echo "Enabling TTL..."
+  su $DYNAMO_USER -c "aws dynamodb update-time-to-live --table-name $TABLE_NAME \
+    --time-to-live-specification 'Enabled=true, AttributeName=ExpirationTime' \
+    --endpoint-url $AWS_ENDPOINT --region $AWS_REGION"
+
+  kill $DYNAMO_PID
+  wait $DYNAMO_PID 2>/dev/null || true
+
+  echo "Schema initialization complete. "
+else
+  echo "DB file already exists. Skipping initialization."
+fi
+
+echo "Starting DynamoDBLocal as $DYNAMO_USER..."
+exec su $DYNAMO_USER -c "java $*"