The Papa Murphy’s take-and-bake pizza chain said it will close as many as 16 company-operated stores this quarter as part of a new turnaround strategy that also calls for adding delivery service in early 2018.
The franchisor said it would take a one-time charge of $7.4 million to cover the initiatives.
Sixteen stores is a small fraction of the 1,600-unit Papa Murphy’s system, but the tally represents about a tenth of the restaurants that are run by the franchisor. In addition, the chain has not revealed how many franchised branches have closed or will need to close as part of the comeback plan.
The company said it will use a variety of third-party services to deliver its pies.
Papa Murphy’s posted a 9.9% decline in domestic same-store sales for company-run units for the first quarter. Comps overall were down 5%.