Police rule out pizza wars in arson attacks on Domino’s largest franchisee

One of Domino’s Pizza’s most successful franchisees has been attacked by arsonists for a second time, but police say they do not think Nick Knight is the victim of a pizza war in the area.

Knight, who runs the Darlinghurst Domino’s Pizza outlet and 12 other Domino’s stores, lost seven of his delivery scooters to the attack at 5am on Tuesday.

Last September, fire destroyed eight scooters at the same Darlinghurst store.

A spokesperson for the NSW Police told SmartCompany that police are continuing their investigation into the incident and are exploring several lines of inquiry.

“At this stage, there does not appear to be a link between this incident and previous incidents in the area,” the spokesperson said.

“As of today, there is no evidence to suggest the incident is part of an ongoing feud between restaurants in the area.”

Knight is Domino’s Pizza’s largest franchisee in Australia and currently features on the pizza chain’s website.

He started at the pizza group at 13 as a shift runner, worked his way up to regional manager and studied for a diploma of tourism and hospitality management/bachelor of business.

In an interview with WhichFranchise.net.au, Knight said his staff were the key to his success.

“I believe that if you select the right people, treat them well and give them the tools and training to do the job well, you can be successful,” he said.

“I want to keep growing the business by expanding my current group of stores and continue to build a great team – as to how many more stores – who knows?”

Domino’s said it was taking the attack “very seriously” in a statement issued following the latest fire.

“Domino’s takes these incidents very seriously and is working closely with local police to investigate the cause of the fire,” the statement said.

“Thankfully the scooters were unoccupied at the time and no one was injured during the fire.

“Domino’s would like to thank the NSW Emergency Services who attended the scene to quickly extinguish the blaze.”