Pizza Fire has remained closed with a sign taped to its doors stating that the restaurant will open sometime mid-January under new ownership. Pizza Fire closed at the end of November, as reported by the Akron-Beacon Journal.

Performance of the restaurant isn’t one of the reasons Pizza Fire closed, said Tom Wilke, the economic development director of the city of Kent.

“The brand had a cash flow problem, being a new start-up company and closed all locations, even ones that were doing well, such as Kent,” Wilke said.

However, since there were a number of franchise owners involved with Pizza Fire, a group of them have come together to buy the location and equipment.

Tim Dean, College Town Kent manager, the franchise group looking to purchase Pizza Fire currently owns several other brands of pizza stores. Dean said they are currently looking into buying the name, Pizza Fire, and the franchise itself. This includes the Kent location as well as several other locations that he didn’t name.

It’s not clarified whether there is a lease in place yet, or if Pizza Fire will still open sometime this month as intended, but it could be later than expected.

Madison MacArthur is a senior reporter. Contact her at [email protected].