Pizza Express on 10th Street reopens 6 weeks after fire

Through wind, rain, snow and even fire, the 10th Street location of Pizza Express still feeds pizza-craving IU students. The orders kept coming, and out of appreciation the store will be holding a “Fire Sale” from 4 p.m. Wednesday to the 3 a.m. closing time Thursday.\n“We were really thrilled by how much support we got from our customers while we were closed,” said co-owner Jeff Mease. “We set up a mini call center where we were able to answer the phone from the campus store and direct calls to the next closest store and we were amazed at how strong the business stayed.”\nApparently the system worked so well that a few students, like sophomore Jodie Cantrell, did not realize the campus location was closed. \n“I didn’t even know there was a fire,” Cantrell said.\nThe fire, which ruined equipment and closed the 10th Street Pizza Express for the past six weeks, did not slow down business in the other stores, Mease said, and he hoped it wouldn’t hinder business in the campus location. Mease said the stores rarely do “short-term sales” like the “Fire Sale” and while he said he is not sure what to expect, he hopes to draw a crowd. \n“We’re going to be prepared for a busy night,” Mease said confidently.\nAll Pizza Express stores are participating in the “Fire Sale,” which features the restaurant’s popular Big Ten Bargain – a 14-inch pizza with an order of bread sticks and two drinks – for $10, according to a press release. An order of breadsticks will also be $2. The sale is meant to coincide with the 10th Street location’s reopening, although the store has been open for a short period of time since the fire.\n“We just wanted to get open for a couple days to see if there were any snags,” Mease said.\nA few students are already making plans to attend the sale. \n“We will probably go, it just depends on how cheap it is,” freshman Craig Price said. “(My friends and I) eat pizza anyway a couple times a week and if there is a sale we’ll go with that.”