The owner of several Little Caesars pizza stores here says he will open a Little Caesars at the former location of a Papa John's pizza store on Spokane's South Hill and hopes to open as many as three more Spokane-area locations over the next year.

The owner, Little Caesars franchisee David Olsen, says that though he's not currently looking at the locations of any other former Papa John's stores for additional sites, he does hope to open up to three more Little Caesars outlets here in the near future.

Olsen says he has leased the site of the former Papa John's at 2905 S. Regal, which had been a Little Caesars in the past. Olsen says he's working on an agreement with Papa John's International Inc. to purchase the ovens and equipment that were left behind when the former franchisee closed a dozen Papa John's locations in the Spokane area recently.

Little Caesars offers precooked pizzas to carry-out customers, Olsen says. Papa John's offered carry-out and delivery of their precooked pizza products.

Because the equipment is already in place, the transition to open the Little Caesars on Regal will be fairly easy, says Olsen, who says he had been searching for a South Hill location.

"We should be able to open up in a couple of weeks," Olsen says. He says the store will employ between 10 and 15 people. Currently, Olsen employs about 50 people among three stores that he operates here, at 4015 N. Market; in Spokane Valley, at 1521 N. Argonne; and at 1790 E. Seltice Way, in Post Falls.

Olsen says two other Little Caesars stores here are owned by a Salt Lake City-based restaurant group called Sizzling Caesars.