Nathan Espindula | Action News Now | January 31, 2025
PARADISE, Calif. – More than six years after the Camp Fire almost wiped out Paradise, a father and son duo are playing their part in rebuilding the town.
Barry and Bertev Avakins have both been living on the ridge for longer than they can remember. Before the fire, both Barry and Bertev were very active community members – with Barry having coached the high school soccer team for years, with his son Bertev at his side.
However, their post-fire life has been very different.
Where there once were houses, there now was debris, and where there once were businesses, there now were just memories – reminders of a lost past, and it was with these memories that Barry and Bertev were motivated to help the town’s recovery.
To Barry and Bertev, the rebuilding of their town is about much more than just building new roads, buildings, and houses.
Reconstructing the town went beyond the material, it also had to do with helping Paradise rediscover its community and culture.
To do that, Bertev and his father decided to open up a Pizza Factory franchise in Paradise. The store opened for business on January 9.
“We just need more businesses to come in here and support the community,” said Barry. “I hate to just see one pizza store, I want to see many pizza stores, so people have options.”
The decision to open a pizza shop especially was an easy one, as Bertev explained that owning a pizza restaurant was something that he always wanted to do.
“It’s a family affair, from my oldest son making boxes to my daughter playing all of the videos here to my mom and dad tossing pizzas, delivering pizzas,” said Bertev. “My brother-in-law, the best delivery driver in town.”
Beyond this, Bertev also said that before the fire, he remembers going to a Round Table in Paradise and how much fun it used to be – the friends, the fun, the drinks, the food – all lost by the fire.
But with the opening of their Pizza Factory location, they dream of bringing that back to their community.