By Jodi Schwan

Toppers Pizza has closed its east-side store and plans to focus on expanding service to the west side.

Franchisee Shane Quail said volume at the East 10th Street store wasn’t as high as expected, and he determined he could take care of east-side customers from his Minnesota Avenue store without compromising service.

“But we can’t service the west side at all,” he said. “It’s just challenging to get to the west side from Minnesota Avenue in seven or eight minutes.”

His new location will be in a retail center under construction along Marion Road south of 26th Street that is part of the Lake Lorraine development.

Construction inside is scheduled to start in the next week or two, and the plan is to open in early August. Employees from the east-side store were able to keep their jobs at the other locations, Quail said.

“It just made sense to get to the west side,” he said. “We anticipate volume will be pretty strong.”

Toppers will be joined in the new retail center by Moe’s Home, a modern furniture store.