Jonny Elia started washing dishes at Brooklyn Bros. Pizzeria in 2008 to cover for a friend with a broken arm. He and his wife, Caitlin Hoover, now own the place.

The husband-and-wife team has purchased both Brooklyn Bros. locations, at 1919 Hewitt Ave. in downtown Everett and 8326 Mukilteo Speedway, the Everett Post first reported Oct. 23.

The business employs more than 40 people.

"I never would have imagined," Elia told the Everett Post, "that filling in for a buddy's dishwashing shift would eventually lead to owning the place."

The pizzeria opened in June 2006. A year and a half later, Elia's best friend Keegan broke his arm and could not make his shift.

Elia stepped in for what was supposed to be a couple of weeks. Co-founder Vicki Evola asked him to stay.

He did.

Elia rose through the ranks to general manager, director of operations and shareholder. Hoover joined in 2017 as a bartender while finishing graduate school.

The two worked together for three years before they started dating, Elia told the Everett Post, and later married.

For roughly the past decade, both served as operations directors, shaping the restaurant's day-to-day operations and its ties to the surrounding community.

A third Brooklyn Bros. location in Mill Creek closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brooklyn Bros. has partnered with a long list of Everett-area organizations over the years, including the Schack Art Center, Village Theatre, Boys & Girls Club of Snohomish County, Workforce Snohomish, the YMCA, Sharing Wheels, Everett and Mukilteo Little Leagues and the Everett Music Initiative, according to the Everett Post.

Elia said the menu and ingredients will stay the same under the new ownership, though the couple plans to introduce new ideas. Hoover told the Everett Post that the pizzeria's community relationships are a priority going forward.

The purchase price and closing date were not disclosed. The Everett Post reported that the restaurant is approaching its 20th anniversary. Brooklyn Bros.' website lists the original opening as June 2006, which would place the restaurant in its 21st year of operation.

Brooklyn Bros. sits in one of downtown Everett's oldest buildings on Hewitt Avenue, a block that also welcomed the Alley Lounge earlier this week.