The competition for the most customers got hotter than a pizza oven when two managers of a Florida Dominos were arrested for arson when they burnt down a neighbouring Papa John’s Pizza. Continue reading after the jump.
Sean Everett Davidson, 23, and Bryan David Sullivan, 22, were arrested in connection to an October 20 fire that left a Papa John’s Pizza in ashes.
The fire at the Lake City Papa John’s in northern Florida was reported around 3am and when the blaze was ‘gutted’ according to police officials.
There were no reported injuries from the fire.
Tips that came into the police department lead investigators to Davidson, who police said he confessed to starting the fire while being questioned.
They then questioned Sullivan, who worked at a different Dominos nearby, and then arrested him as well.
According to a local paper, Sullivan said that his Dominos location would get more business if their Papa John’s competitor ‘was put out of business’.
Sullivan and Davidson made an ignition with an eight inch clock with a 9-volt battery and black gunpowder.
After using the device at their target, they threw it out the window of their car as they drove away from the scene.
Investigators are still looking for the device because they think that it still has the potential to be dangerous to passers by.
Though the two men don’t remember where exactly they threw the device, they said it is somewhere off the side of highway 90 between Lake City and Gainesville, Florida.
While Sullivan and Davidson thought that they had to turn to crime to help sales, Dominos is actually doing very well this year.
The company’s shares are up by 75 per cent this year as compared to Papa John’s which is only up by 15 per cent.
Dominos sales officials attribute the rise to it’s new pizza recipe and ‘commitment to accountability’, since they publish both good and bad reviews, as well as pictures of their sub-par pizza, from customers that are submitted through Facebook and Twitter.
The ‘mea culpa’ campaign has been tremendously successful for the company, even though it was not thought of as a wise move initially.
