Looking for a dynamic market for its first Michigan store, emerging pizza chain Toppers Pizza chose Ann Arbor, and the businessman awarded that franchise chose the Thomas A. Duke Company to help him locate an ideal site for success.
The challenges were multiple. Our client needed fast delivery-drive times to student housing, but available retail locations in that driving radius are limited, come with high rents and minimal parking space.
We rose to the challenge. We quickly and comprehensively evaluated all possible sites, including an overview of competitors in each vicinity and other businesses that would generate traffic for the pizza store. In consultation with the client, we presented several landlords with requests for proposals, often competing with other broker-tenant teams for a particular space. For each location we also drew up detailed parking and delivery-driver plans and plans for blending the Toppers corporate tradedress with an area’s historical standards.
Our vigorous efforts—including leveraging our firm’s relationships in this very competitive niche market—paid off. The franchisee of Michigan’s first Toppers Pizza has signed a five-year lease for 1,500 square feet of prime retail space at 607 E. William Street, very near the University of Michigan campus. Grand opening plans are underway! (www.toppers.com)
For more information on this deal, or to find out how we can help you with your site selection or expansion needs, please call Frank Rakipi (frakipi@thomasduke.com) at 248-476-3700.
