Papa John's Pizza
Encyclopedia
Papa John's Pizza is the third largest take-out
Take-out
Take-out or takeout , carry-out , take-away , parcel , or tapau , is food purchased at a...

 and delivery
Pizza delivery
Pizza delivery is a service in which a pizzeria delivers a pizza to a customer. Delivery is normally made with an automobile, motor scooter, or bicycle.- Ordering :...

 pizza
Pizza
Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...

 restaurant chain in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, behind Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise that offers different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread....

 and Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza, Inc. is an international pizza delivery corporation headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America. Founded in 1960, Domino's is the second-largest pizza chain in the United States and has over 9,000 corporate and franchised stores in 60 countries and all 50 U.S....

. It is based in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

. Papa John's slogan is "Better Ingredients. Better pizza. Papa John's"

Internationally, there are over 3,300 Papa John's establishments, including over 2,600 in the U.S. and more than 500 in over 30 other countries.

History

The founder of Papa John's, John Schnatter
John Schnatter
John H. Schnatter , better known as "Papa John", is the founder, chairman, and current CEO of Papa John's International, Inc. He founded the company in October 1984. He is also spokesman for Papa John's.-Biography:...

, began his pizza career at Rocky's Sub Pub in Jeffersonville, Indiana
Jeffersonville, Indiana
Jeffersonville is a city in Clark County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It is directly across the Ohio River to the north of Louisville, Kentucky along I-65. The population was 44,953 at the 2010 census...

, while attending Jeffersonville High School
Jeffersonville High School
Jeffersonville High School, home of the red devils, was founded in 1871-1872. Originally located in downtown Jeffersonville, Indiana, in the early 1970s a new, larger campus was constructed on the outer eastern edge of the city...

. Schnatter graduated from Jeffersonville High in 1980, and continued his association with the pizza business while attending Ball State University
Ball State University
Ball State University is a state-run research university located in Muncie, Indiana. It is also known as Ball State or simply BSU.Located on the northwest side of the city, Ball State's campus spans and includes 106 buildings...

, working as a delivery driver for Greek's Pizzeria in Muncie
Muncie, Indiana
Muncie is a city in Center Township, Delaware County in east central Indiana, best known as the home of Ball State University and the birthplace of the Ball Corporation. It is the principal city of the Muncie, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 118,769...

. Upon graduating, he began working for his father, who was co-owner of the bar (Mick's Lounge) in Jeffersonville, Indiana
Jeffersonville, Indiana
Jeffersonville is a city in Clark County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It is directly across the Ohio River to the north of Louisville, Kentucky along I-65. The population was 44,953 at the 2010 census...

. In 1984, he sold his car (a 1971 Chevrolet Camaro
Chevrolet Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is an automobile manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand, classified as a pony car and some versions also as a muscle car. It went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed as a competing model to the Ford Mustang...

 Z28) to buy out the other owner of the bar, and started serving pizza to customers.
The corporation credits its growth to great customer service, quality products, and menu simplicity, in contrast with other chains' focus on low prices. Fewer options in crust styles and side dishes simplify inventory management, meaning the focus could remain on quality. However, since the mid-1990s, Papa John's has followed the industry trend and greatly expanded its menu options, adding thin-crust, pan pizza, and whole wheat crust options, "robusto", barbecue, and Alfredo
Alfredo
Alfredo is a cognate of the Germanic name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name that may refer to:People*Alfredo Alonso, Cuban-born media executive with Clear Channel Radio...

 sauces; 10 specialty pizzas, many with new toppings and new cheeses; chicken strips and four flavors of chicken wings; many dessert pastries, such as apple pie
Pie
A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients....

; and new variations of bread sticks and cheese sticks.

The thin crust has been advertised as crispier than others (similar to St. Louis-style pizza
St. Louis-style pizza
St. Louis-style pizza is a distinct style of pizza popular in St. Louis, Missouri, and surrounding areas. The definitive characteristics of St. Louis-style pizza are a super-thin yeast-less crust, the common use of Provel processed cheese, and pizzas cut into squares or rectangles instead of large...

) and the "robusto" sauce introduced with the pan crust has chunky tomato pieces and more vibrant spice notes. To simplify in-store operations and to provide product consistency between stores, many functions such as dough production are carried out by an off-site commissary system similar to that of most other fast food chains.

In late 2009, the company made a partial return to offering a relatively narrow range of menu items. The Papa Perfect Pan Pizza, the whole wheat crust, and the robusto style sauce were discontinued.

Lawsuit

In 1997, Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise that offers different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread....

 filed suit against Papa John's based on a series of advertisements that compared the ingredients of Papa John's and its competitors. At trial, the court agreed with Pizza Hut's argument that Papa John's slogan did not constitute statements of literal fact – that "fresher ingredients" do not necessarily account for a "better" pizza; this ruling was overturned in 2000 when Papa John's appealed the decision. Although the jury's decision on the misleading advertising was upheld, the appeals court determined that Pizza Hut failed to prove, under the requirements of the Lanham Act
Lanham Act
The Lanham Act is a piece of legislation that contains the federal statutes of trademark law in the United States. The Act prohibits a number of activities, including trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and false advertising.-History:Named for Representative Fritz G...

, that the misleading advertising and puffery
Puffery
Puffery as a legal term refers to promotional statements and claims that express subjective rather than objective views, which no "reasonable person" would take literally...

 had a material effect on consumers' purchasing decisions.

Business ventures

Papa John's primarily takes carryout and delivery orders, although some stores have tables and chairs. Papa John's offers online ordering throughout the United States, automatically assigning all registered customers to the closest location.

In Ireland many Supermac's
Supermac's
Supermac's is an Irish owned fast food restaurant chain with restaurants located across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.-History:The first Supermac's opened its doors in 1978 in Main Street, Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland...

 restaurants have Papa John's located inside.

The structure of a Papa John's restaurant is typical of that seen in many fast food outlets, with a salaried store manager presiding over day-to-day operations, and several salaried or hourly assistant managers and shift managers presiding over in-store and delivery team members. Above the store management is an area supervisor who is generally supervised by a franchisee or; in corporate stores, a director of operations reports to an operational vice president.

Franchise stores
Franchising
Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....

 owners pay a royalty fee 5% of net sales to Papa John's International, and up to 7% of net sales on advertising efforts. Corporate operations looks over franchisees to ensure brand consistency.

, there were over 3,330 Papa John's restaurants operating in all 50 U.S. states and 30 international markets. Papa John's International is a publicly traded company, with 30% of shares owned by John Schnatter.

Papa John's became one of the first major pizza chains to include a garlic butter dipping sauce
Dip (food)
A dip or dipping sauce is a common condiment for many types of food. Dips are used to add flavor and/or texture to a food, such as pita bread, dumplings, crackers, cut-up raw vegetables, seafood, cubed pieces of meat and cheese, potato chips, tortilla chips, and falafel...

 with every original crust or square pan pizza, as well as a peperoncini pepper, a traditional Italian spice.

In January 2002, Papa John's became the first national pizza chain to make online ordering available to all of its U.S. customers. Most other national chains subsequently added online ordering to their services. Online ordering is also available in Canada, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.

On March 30, 2006, Six Flags
Six Flags
Six Flags Entertainment Corp. is the world's largest amusement park corporation based on quantity of properties and the fifth most popular in terms of attendance. The company maintains 14 properties located throughout North America, including theme parks, thrill parks, water parks and family...

 announced that its parks' pizza would exclusively be from Papa John's. In turn, Six Flags received an annual sponsorship and promotional opportunities from Papa John's. Papa John's is also the official pizza supplier of the Olympic Speedskating Oval
Olympic Oval
The Olympic Oval in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is a covered speed skating oval built for the 1988 Winter Olympics. It is the official designated training center for Speed Skate Canada and the Canadian National Speed Skating team. It is located on the University of Calgary campus...

 in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. On November 16, 2006, Papa John's signed with ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

 Regional Television to become the title sponsor of the annual PapaJohns.com Bowl, a college post-season football bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...

 in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...

.

Papa John's is credited with developing the most advanced dynamic resource control infrastructure in the fast food industry. Sources within the company have stated the centralized network is modeled after NORAD's Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center. , all Papa John's retail locations were linked via fiber optic cables to national headquarters. Real-time updates are made at the company's Louisville national inventory control center, where operations research experts (many recruited from the 2002 layoffs at Enron
Enron
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...

) allocate deliverymen and pizza ingredients to areas experiencing surges in pizza demand.

Papa John's received negative media attention in May 2008 when a Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 franchise distributed t-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....

s making fun of Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...

 star player LeBron James
LeBron James
LeBron Raymone James is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association . Nicknamed "King James", he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while a...

 at a playoff
NBA Playoffs
The National Basketball Association Playoffs is a best-of-seven elimination tournament among sixteen teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference , ultimately deciding the final four teams who will play in the NBA Conference Finals.-Format:Following the NBA regular season, eight teams in...

  game against the Washington Wizards
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. They play in the National Basketball Association .-Early years:...

. Photographs of the shirts quickly spread from the blogosphere to Cleveland television. Increasing awareness of the controversy prompted an apology from the Papa John's national headquarters on May 5. To apologize, Papa John's offered large single-topping pizzas for 23 cents (matching James' jersey number
Squad number
In team sports, the squad number, shirt number, jersey number, sweater number, uniform number or simply a number is the number worn on a player's uniform, to identify and distinguish each player from others wearing the same or similar uniforms...

) at all locations in Greater Cleveland
Greater Cleveland
Greater Cleveland is a nickname for the metropolitan area surrounding Cleveland, Ohio and is part of what used to be the Connecticut Western Reserve.Northeast Ohio refers to a similar but substantially larger area as described below...

 and throughout northern Ohio. The chain sold over 172,000 pizzas at 23 cents a piece, with customers waiting in lines outside of some stores for as long as three hours. However, the media attention that resulted is widely considered to be worth millions and led to massive increases in sales across all Papa John's locations, most notably in Cleveland.

In 2009, Schnatter began a nation-wide campaign to find the Z28 Camaro he sold in order to start his first Papa John's store. With the help of the automotive website Jalopnik
Jalopnik
Jalopnik is a Weblog covering cars, car culture, and the automotive industry. Owned and operated by Gawker Media since 2004, Jalopnik emphasizes irreverent humor....

, the car was traced to the town of Flatwoods, Kentucky
Flatwoods, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,605 people, 3,114 households, and 2,282 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,691.9 people per square mile . There were 3,338 housing units at an average density of 742.6 per square mile...

, where it was owned by one Jeff Robertson. Robertson had kept the car in excellent condition, even adding a larger motor for drag racing
Drag racing
Drag racing is a competition in which specially prepared automobiles or motorcycles compete two at a time to be the first to cross a set finish line, from a standing start, in a straight line, over a measured distance, most commonly a ¼-mile straight track....

 (he reported the car doing a 9.55 quarter mile) and exhibiting the vehicle in car shows. He sold the car back to Schnatter in August of that year, cashing a check for $250,000; in addition, Schnatter offered $25,000 to the family who had originally purchased the car from him in 1983 and tipped off Jalopnik to its whereabouts. In honor of the re-acquisition of the car, Papa John's announced that anyone who drove a Camaro to a Papa John's location on August 26 would receive one free pizza.

In early 2010, Papa John Corporate rolled out a new idea. Customers were to design their own specialty pizzas, submit them to Papa John's Corporate, with the hope of winning pizza for life. Papa Johns received a number of specialty pizza choices. After a few judging competitions, by a number of judges, the list of specialty pizza choices dwindled to three - The Working Fire, The Big Bonanza, and the Cheesey Chicken Cordon Blue. In late July the three choices were presented to the people for their final vote. The specialty pizza with the most sales will be queened as the new specialty pizza, and will remain on Papa John's Menu for one year. After July sales ended the Cheesey Chicken Cordon Blue had won with a undisclosed number of sales - and will remain on Papa John's Menu for one year.

Also, around August 2010 Papa John's Corporate signed a multiple year deal with the National Football League (NFL) and NBC - Football Night in America to be their official sponsor; therefore, making Sunday Night Football as pizza and football night in America.

Papa John's is currently the sponsor of the NBA D-League Game of the Week
NBA Development League
The NBA Development League, or NBA D-League, is the National Basketball Association's official minor league basketball organization. Known until summer 2005 as the National Basketball Development League , the NBA D-League started with eight teams in the fall of 2001...

 presented by Versus.

Other trade names

Papa John's operated under the company name "Papiano's" in East Lansing, Michigan
East Lansing, Michigan
East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located directly east of Lansing, Michigan, the state's capital. Most of the city is within Ingham County, though a small portion lies in Clinton County. The population was 48,579 at the time of the 2010 census, an increase from...

, because a pre-existing local chain of pizza restaurants in this area already laid claim to the name "Papa John's" before the major chain was formed. The location closed in 2008 and reopened as another pizzeria.

UK Franchise

Papa John's has operated in the UK since 2001. In May 2011 the company had 156 shops in the UK with plans for between 400 and 500 within 5 years. They are the number 2 pizza chain in the country behind Domino's with slightly more stores than Perfect Pizza.

Portugal Franchise

All the Papa John's restaurants in Portugal are now closed or have changed names. Some of these locations still serve pizza, though the master-franchise Rest-Smart filed for bankruptcy.

See also

  • Papa John's Cardinal Stadium
    Papa John's Cardinal Stadium
    Papa John's Cardinal Stadium is a football stadium located in Louisville, Kentucky, USA and serves as the home of the University of Louisville football program. It opened in 1998, making it the second-to-last football stadium in NCAA Division I-A to open in the 20th century, with SMU's Gerald J....

    , a football
    American football
    American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

     stadium
    Stadium
    A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...

     on the campus of the University of Louisville
    University of Louisville
    The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...

     bearing the company's name via a naming rights
    Naming rights
    In the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...

     agreement
  • PapaJohns.com Bowl
    Birmingham Bowl
    The BBVA Compass Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A college football bowl game approved in April 2006 and played annually at the 71,594-seat Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, U.S...

    , a college football
    College football
    College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

     bowl game
    Bowl game
    In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...

     played at Legion Field
    Legion Field
    Legion Field is a large stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but is occasionally used for other large outdoor events. The stadium is named in honor of the American Legion, a U.S. organization of military veterans. At its peak...

     in Birmingham, Alabama
    Birmingham, Alabama
    Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...

    in January. (Papa John's did not exercise its option to renew sponsorship in 2010.)

External links

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