I am not a lawyer and have no idea if there could possibly be any grounds for a lawsuit or not, but are contracts typically written with a clause that eliminates any potential direct competitor from opening in the same plaza/strip mall, or is it "owner beware" when you decide to open at a multi-business location like Shelbyville Rd Plaza? The reason I ask is because Puccini's closed recently, about the same time Blaze Pizza opened, directly across from them. Maybe it is a coincidence and Puccini's had already planned on closing or their lease was ending and they decided not to renew or it wasn't offered for renewal, but the timing seems suspect.
Just curious....