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In these tough economic times, businessmen are encouraged to find innovative and out-of-the-box ways to compete for sales.
Arson, though a highly effective strategy, is not recommended, because it is also highly illegal.
Domino’s managers Bryan Sullivan and Sean Davidson were apparently upset when a new Papa John’s location opened near their store in small Lake City, Florida. The owner of the Papa John’s franchise, Jacob Wilkes, and two friends had pooled money to open the new location just three months ago, according to FirstCoastNews.com. Wilkes said business had been booming, which apparently worried the Domino’s manager. Before the arrival of Papa John’s, Domino’s was the only pizza chain in town.
So Sean Everett Davidson, 23, and Bryan David Sullivan, 22, hatched a scheme: Burn down the Papa John’s. The two put the plan into action October 20. The Papa John’s was completely gutted, and soon after, police arrested Davidson and Sullivan. They admitted they indeed burned the restaurant down because of the competition.
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“I was dumbfounded over how somebody could go to those lengths over pizza,” Wilkes told the news station.
Davidson and Sullivan were arrested and charged with felony arson. The Noid is not believed to be involved.
“I’m more sympathetic toward the families of the guys that did it,” quips Wilkes, who plans to rebuild. “I can only imagine the regret and what they’re looking at now and thinking how stupid it was. Just to think back, it’s only pizza.”
Amazingly, this is only the second most serious pizza-chain-related news of the week.
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