The Florida Papa John’s Pizza franchise that was allegedly burned down last year by two employees of a rival Domino’s Pizza is set to reopen Thursday.
The Papa John’s in Lake City opened in August 2011 and was set fire merely eight weeks later in October 2011 by the Domino’s managers Bryan Sullivan and Sean Everett Davidson, according to police.
According to the police report, Sullivan and Davidson were tired of seeing the Papa John’s delivery vehicles drive past their store, and thought their business would increase if the store closed.
The owners of the Papa John’s franchise, Paul Hakken, Jake Wilkes, and Derrick Goodman, spent five months rebuilding the store at 2815 W. US Highway 90 and posted updates to their Facebook page in the process.
They received support from major chains Bank of America, Tire Kingdom, and Home Depot, and their eight employees, who they continued to compensate for help in rebuilding the store.
“In spite of all the damage and the impact it’s had on us and our business, we have been fortunate to have incredible support from friends, family and community, all of which has enabled us to rebuild our store brick by brick,” said Wilkes. “We are grateful to continue to do what we love, run our business and serve great Papa John’s pizza.”
Sullivan and Davidson were both arrested on felony arson charges.
