The downtown Ann Arbor Papa John’s store that closed to make way for a proposed high-rise has found a new home on Plymouth Road.
The 1,500-square-foot pizza store opened at 3395 Plymouth Road in the Plymouth Green Crossings shopping center at 4 p.m. on Monday.
Papa John's opened Monday in the Plymouth Green Crossings shopping center.
AnnArbor.com file photo
“The north side is where the university growth is and new things are happening on that (area) of Plymouth there,” said franchise owner Austin McCurdy.
McCurdy said about 70 percent of the store’s orders are delivery, so he wanted a convenient location with plenty of parking. He said the new location is better for business than the old store on East Huron Street, which closed in September 2012 after a Connecticut real estate firm purchased the property. The firm has since proposed a 14-story student high-rise at the corner of East Huron and South Division.
“Being downtown isn’t really conducive to delivery drivers,” McCurdy said.
McCurdy said some employees transferred to his Papa John’s store on Washtenaw Avenue in Pittsfield Township when the downtown Ann Arbor store closed.
He said he’s also actively looking for space to open a store on Ann Arbor’s southwest side.
“For pizza, our No. 1 demographic is 18-to-35-year-olds also, the household count is high in Ann Arbor,” he said.
Derek Brown of Quorum Commercial represented McCurdy in the deal. Lisa Loesel of CBRE is the listing broker for Plymouth Green Crossings.
The new store is open 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at 734-623-2584 or email her at lizzyalfs@annarbor.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lizzyalfs.