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Posted on Thu, Dec 23, 2010 : 5:57 a.m.

Jet's Pizza opening in Courtyard Shops on Plymouth Road

By Laura Blodgett

Jet’s Pizza plans to open a location in a prominent spot in the Courtyard Shops mall on Plymouth Road across from the University of Michigan's North Campus.

The franchise is finishing renovations and plans to be open by Jan. 1, said owner Joe Lavigne.

Lavigne, who has also owned the Jet’s Pizza franchise on Wayne Road in Westland for the past 11 years, was looking to open a second location.

“I decided to open here because Jets tends to do very well in college towns, as well as the fact that Ann Arbor is booming compared to other towns in the Detroit area," Lavigne said.

Lavigne likes Jet’s because its products are made fresh daily in the store.

“The dough and everything is made that day, where other chains get their dough shipped frozen. So Jet’s pizza tends to be consistently high quality," he said.

He added: “The way we cook our pizza tends to cook it real well. We have a three-tiered oven, which runs at different temperatures and for different lengths of time.”

In addition to college students, Lavigne said Jet’s also appeals to an older crowd because it is more of a gourmet pizza.

Lavigne plans to hire  15 to 20 employees to staff the store. He hopes to average at least $13,000 in revenue the first month.

The 1,200-square-foot space was originally a tanning salon before being split in half, said Jim Chaconas of Colliers International, an owner of the Courtyard Shops.

“Jet’s will do great with North Campus and the hospital right here," Chaconas said.

Jet’s joins a list of tenants in the mall that includes ethnic restaurants and groceries, a dental office, watch repair, bike shop and a “great little tailor," Chaconas said.

“We use the same approach at that mall as we do at our others like Westgate," he said. "We try to make it like a little village so when you come here and park, there’s a lot to do.”

Chaconas said the Courtyard Shops has two vacancies left out of 40 spaces. “There’s only so much retail over here on Plymouth Road."

Laura Blodgett is a freelance reporter for AnnArbor.com.

Comments

Rhe Buttle

Thu, Dec 23, 2010 : 10:07 a.m.

Wasn't there a Jets there at 175X Plymouth Road not that long ago?