How Do I Find Out Why They Closed

[McLurkey]

Hi All,

There is a Papa John’s near me that closed after almost 10 years. It is in a strip mall w/ a large chain vid store. I went in there and asked if they knew the franchisee or landlord info w/ no luck-there is no for lease signs up and they have been closed for 3 months.

When I find these out is there any reliable way of finding out why they closed?

Thanks much!

 

[royster13]

From my point of view I do not care why they shut down…Do your due diligence and see what the numbers look like…If your business plan is on the conservative side, go for it…Re-starting a closed place can be easier than starting from scratch but also realize it can be a big challenge too…It will not be a "cake

Ask around…May be the owner got sick or is involved in a divorce or other family issues…It may be that PJ head office is on the lease and theya re stuck paying no matter what…

Good luck…

 

[papajgirl]

I would contact the city hall to find out who the landlord/leasee is on the contract.

We had to do this when the first round of PJ was here.

My husband worked there for 2 weeks, and showed up for work with a locked down business and he had to track down his paycheck by contacting city hall, finding out who, then getting hold of them.

Sometimes, PJ will step in if they have too many negatives in a row on their surprise evaluations and especially if the store is a good store, will close it down and take over the franchise cause they know once it reopens, they’ll be in for good $$$.

Other than that, not much else to offer advise wise.

 

[NicksPizza]

I suspect that the closure information will be closely held if the franchiser knows the answer. I don’t have any sper secret ways to get the information other than asking the former owner/employees.

Unless the lease was recorded somewhere (highly unlikely), that information won’t be in records. Property owner can be found at county records office (Clerk of Superior Court in GA). Other tenant businesses in the strip mall should be able to tell you who the landlord is. Anyone you are chummy with there? City utility records are public, so you could find out who had the water/sewer account with the city.

I am with Royster on that. Do the homework on demographics, competition, pricing, costs and projected revenues. If it makes sense, then ask around for any “hidden” info that might be important.

 

[McLurkey]

Thanks for the replies everyone! Actually I drove by today, and there was a for lease sign up-apparantly they were negotiating w/ PJ in how to exit. The broker contacted the franchisee and he is removing equip and opening another location 60-70 miles south. I did not get any other info on why they closed.

Thanks for all the input.