Happy's Pizza is an American regional chain of restaurants, serving pizza, ribs, chicken, seafood, sandwiches, pasta and salad.

History

The first Happy's Pizza restaurant was opened by Happy Asker in 1994 on the east side of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. From 2006 to early 2008, the chain doubled in size and reached 27 locations. Now the chain has more than 65 locations in

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. The pizzerias are known for their

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

counter tops, Venetian plaster on their walls and the neon signs in and outside of the building.

Service of otherwise unserved areas

The company makes a point of opening stores and offering delivery services in areas where other pizza places will not. Happy's Pizza started with one restaurant in Detroit, and grew to a large pizza restaurant chain.

Fraud convictions

In 2010, federal agents raided the company's headquarters. On July 16, 2013, Happy Asker and five other shareholders were indicted on counts of fraud and tax evasion. The Office of the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the

Eastern District of Michigan The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (in case citations, E.D. Mich.) is the United States district court, federal district court with jurisdiction over of the eastern half of the Lower Peninsula of the State o ...

alleged Asker and the others came up with a scheme to under-report taxable income and payroll taxes from $2.1 million in wages from more than 50 Happy's Pizza locations in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and elsewhere. They were charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government, filing false income tax returns, and corrupt endeavor to obstruct IRS laws. The defendants charged with conspiracy faced up to five years in prison and a $25,000 fine. Those charged with filing false tax returns and obstruction faced to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count. In July 2015, Asker was found guilty on all charges and was sentenced to over four years in prison and ordered to pay $2.5 million in restitution. The other four pleaded guilty. Maher Bashi, the pizza chain's chief operating officer, was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay $620,297. Two franchisees were given prison sentences, while a third received three years probation.

References

External links

{{Pizza chains 1994 establishments in Michigan Companies based in Oakland County, Michigan Economy of the Midwestern United States Farmington Hills, Michigan Pizza chains of the United States Pizza franchises Regional restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants in Detroit Restaurants established in 1994

History

Service of otherwise unserved areas

Fraud convictions

See also

References

External links