Papa John's facts for kids
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Headquarters in Cumberland, Georgia
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Trade name
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Papa Johns |
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| Public | |
| Traded as | NASDAQ: PZZA S&P 600 component |
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Founded | October 2, 1984 |
| Founder | John Schnatter |
| Headquarters | Jeffersontown, Kentucky, U.S. Cumberland, Georgia, U.S. |
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Number of locations
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5,400 (December 2020) |
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Key people
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| Products | |
| Revenue |  US$1.81 billion (FY December 29, 2020) |
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Operating income
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US$90.253 million (FY December 29, 2020) |
| US$57.932 million (FY December 29, 2020) |
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| Total assets | US$872.770 million (FY December 29, 2020) |
| Total equity |  −US$266.939 million (FY December 29, 2020) |
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Number of employees
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~16,700 (FY December 29, 2020) |
Papa John's International, Inc., known as Papa Johns, is a popular American pizza restaurant chain. It is one of the largest pizza delivery companies in the United States. Its main offices are located near Louisville, Kentucky and Atlanta, Georgia.
Papa Johns has grown a lot and now has over 5,500 locations. These are spread across 49 different countries and territories around the world. It is the third-largest pizza delivery company globally.
Contents
The Story of Papa Johns
How it Started (1984–2009)
Papa John's was started in 1984 by a person named "Papa" John Schnatter. He began by putting a pizza oven in a small room at the back of his father's tavern in Jeffersonville, Indiana. To buy the used pizza equipment, he sold his 1971 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 car for $1,600.
He started selling pizzas to the tavern's customers. His pizzas became very popular. A year later, he moved his business into a bigger space next door. Papa John's also invented dipping sauce specifically for pizza that same year. This sauce has become very popular for eating with pizza crusts.
The company became a public company in 1993. This means people could buy shares of the company on the stock market. By 1994, Papa John's had 500 stores. By 1997, they had opened 1,500 stores. In 2009, John Schnatter bought his old Camaro back. He offered a reward of $250,000 to find it.
Big Changes (2010s)
On May 22, 2010, a special event happened with Papa John's pizza. Someone used 10,000 Bitcoins to buy two pizzas from a Papa John's in Jacksonville, Florida. This was the first time Bitcoin was used to buy physical goods. Many cryptocurrency users now celebrate May 22 as "Bitcoin Pizza Day."
In 2018, John Schnatter stepped down as the CEO of Papa John's. Steve Ritchie became the new CEO. Schnatter remained the chairman for a short time. Later in 2018, after a controversy, Schnatter also resigned as chairman of the board. The company then worked to improve its workplace culture.
In 2019, a company called Starboard Value invested $200 million in Papa John's. This helped the company grow. Also in 2019, Shaquille O'Neal, a famous basketball player, joined Papa John's board of directors. He also became a spokesperson for the brand. The next year, Papa John's even introduced a special pizza named "Shaq-a-Roni" after him.
In August 2019, Robert M. Lynch became the new CEO of Papa John's. He had previously been the president of Arby's.
Recent Years (2020s)
In 2020, Papa John's announced plans for a new main office in the Atlanta metropolitan area. This new global headquarters is located in Three Ballpark Center at The Battery Atlanta. The original headquarters in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, still operates. It handles departments like IT and supply chain.
In 2021, Papa John's updated its logo. They removed the apostrophe and made the design simpler. In March 2022, Papa John's stopped its business operations in Russia. This was in response to the conflict in Ukraine. However, some independently owned stores there stayed open. In August 2024, Todd Penegor was named the new President and CEO of the company.
How Papa Johns Works
Papa John's mainly takes orders for pickup or delivery. Some restaurants also have tables where people can eat inside.
People who want to open a Papa John's restaurant as a franchise owner pay a fee of $25,000 for each restaurant. Then, they pay a small percentage of their sales as a royalty fee. They also pay a fee for advertising. The company wants franchisees to have enough money to invest in the business. Papa John's International is a company whose shares are traded on the stock market.
In 2019, Papa John's was the fourth-largest pizza chain in the United States for takeout and delivery. The company's slogan is "Better Ingredients. Better Pizza. Papa John's."
Papa John's has over 5,199 locations around the world. This includes 4,456 franchised restaurants in all 50 U.S. states. They also have stores in 44 other countries and territories. In September 2012, the 4,000th Papa John's restaurant opened in New Hyde Park, New York. To celebrate, the company gave away 4,000 free pizzas in New York City.
In 2002, Papa John's was the first national pizza chain to let all its U.S. customers order online. Many other pizza chains later added online ordering too.
Papa Johns Around the World
Papa John's has expanded to many countries outside the U.S.
South Korea
Papa John's opened its first store in South Korea in 2003. By the end of 2022, they had 239 stores in Korea. In Korea, Papa John's sells both its original American pizzas and special pizzas made for local tastes. They also offer various side dishes like spaghetti.
Europe
Papa John's has been in the United Kingdom since 1999. In July 2015, they had 300 shops in the UK. In March 2024, Papa John's announced it would close 43 stores in the UK that were not doing well.
Papa John's also operates in Ireland. They have over 50 locations and even mobile units. These stores are often next to Supermac's fast food restaurants.
Spain is another important European market for Papa John's. The chain started there in 2016. By late 2017, they had 42 restaurants. Many of these are in the Madrid area.
Papa John's also opened its first restaurant in Kazakhstan in 2018. In May 2019, Papa John's entered the German market. They took over an existing pizza chain and plan to open many more stores there. Papa John's also returned to Portugal in 2019 after an earlier attempt. In the Netherlands, Papa John's opened its first stores in 2017.
Latin America
Papa John's has restaurants in 13 countries in Latin America. These include Colombia, Chile, and Mexico.
India
Papa John's entered India in 2006. However, they found it hard to compete with other pizza chains already there. By 2017, Papa John's decided to leave India.
China
In 2018, Papa John's sold its 34 company-owned stores in Beijing and stopped its operations in China.
Pakistan
Papa John's opened its first store in Lahore, Pakistan, in early 2019.
Sports and Event Sponsorships
Papa John's has sponsored many sports teams and events. In 2006, Six Flags amusement parks announced that Papa John's would be their exclusive pizza. Papa John's is also the official pizza supplier for the Olympic Speedskating Oval in Calgary, Canada.
From 2006 to 2010, Papa John's was the main sponsor of the annual PapaJohns.com Bowl. This was a college football game in Birmingham, Alabama.
In 2010, Papa John's became the Official Pizza Sponsor of the National Football League (NFL). This included sponsoring the Super Bowl. In 2012, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning became a Papa John's franchise owner in the Denver area. He bought 21 restaurants. Papa John's also became the Official Pizza Partner of The Football League in the UK in 2013. This NFL sponsorship ended in 2018.
The company also had the naming rights for Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. This is the football stadium for the University of Louisville's football team. John Schnatter personally donated money for these rights. The Papa John's name was removed from the stadium in 2018 after Schnatter resigned from the company.
In 2020, Papa John's became the main sponsor of the EFL Trophy. This is a football competition for lower league and under-23 clubs in England.
Legal Matters
Papa John's has been involved in some legal cases.
In 1997, Pizza Hut sued Papa John's over advertisements that compared their ingredients. The case went to court, and the ruling was later overturned.
In 2012, Papa John's faced a lawsuit for sending too many unwanted text messages to customers. The company agreed to pay $16.5 million to settle this case. People who were part of the lawsuit could receive up to $50 and a free pizza.
In 2015, Papa John's agreed to pay $12.3 million to settle a lawsuit. This lawsuit claimed that the company did not pay its delivery drivers enough money for their deliveries in several states.
Animal Welfare Efforts
Papa John's has made commitments to improve animal welfare in its supply chain.
In 2013, the company announced plans to stop using certain types of pens for pigs by 2022. In 2024, some groups noted that the company was still getting pork from producers using these pens.
In 2016, Papa John's promised to use only eggs from cage-free chickens by 2030. However, in 2025, they announced a temporary pause on this promise due to egg shortages.
In 2020, Papa John's signed the Better Chicken Commitment. This is a promise to improve the living conditions for chickens raised for meat. In 2022, some animal protection groups criticized the company for not sharing updates on their progress.
See also
In Spanish: Papa John's Pizza para niños
- Cardinal Stadium – a football stadium formerly named after the company
- List of pizza chains
- List of pizza chains of the United States
- List of pizza franchises
- List of pizza varieties by country
- List of major employers in Louisville, Kentucky
- List of the largest fast food restaurant chains
