Moses Lake owner hopes to re-open Papa John's in Yakima

YAKIMA, Wash. -- A Moses Lake business owner is in the process of reopening the Papa John’s location in Yakima. 

That store was one of 12 locations to close in late January throughout Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho.

Steve Ethington currently owns a Papa John’s location in Moses Lake and is working to reopen in Yakima and Wenatchee. He said that other franchise groups are looking at reopening the other locations.

“We’ve been trying to figure out a way to reopen as many of them as we can,” he said.

Ethington said he’s in the process of completing official documentation from the Louisville-Ky. pizza chain, but he’s aiming to reopen the two locations by the end of the month.

Ethington wouldn’t reveal exactly how much it costs for him to take over the two locations, but stated that it typically costs about $200,000 to open a brand new store. The costs may be different since he is taking over existing locations.

In the meanwhile, Ethington is looking for workers — he’s taken out an ad on craigslist and talked to former employees about coming back. He expects about 15 employees to work in Yakima.

-- Mai Hoang

Reach blogger Mai Hoang at mhoang@yakimaherald.com or by commenting on this entry.
Too busy to read Shop Talk? Follow Mai on Twitter or check out Shop Talk on Facebook.