Papa John's

Food

Papa Johns' Pan Pizza upgrade took several years to perfect

The culinary team at the Atlanta-based pizza chain tested countless iterations to elevate the pie’s flavor and texture and have it stand out in a crowded category.

Financing

Papa Johns, shifting away from company restaurants, sells 85 locations to a franchisee

The pizza chain completed a “strategic refranchising” of a joint-venture operation in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore to Pie Investments, which will open another 52 locations in the market by 2030.

The fast-food pizza chain’s same-store sales declined 3% last quarter. The company is planning to cut “non-customer-facing” costs and will speed up refranchising.

Behind the Menu: The chain just launched the Papa Dippa, a pizza cut into strips for easy dunking into four dipping sauces, all packed together in a specially designed box.

The Bottom Line: Third-party aggregators have been taking more business away from pizza delivery chains. But Papa Johns CEO Todd Penegor believes they have a crucial tool to get that business going.

A Deeper Dive: Penegor joins the weekly restaurant finance podcast to talk about Papa Johns’ focus on its core pizza, its use of third-party aggregators, technology, artificial intelligence and marketing.

The number of pizzas ordered from the chain increased 6% last quarter, helping drive sales and traffic growth.

The Bottom Line: A pair of firms are reportedly making a play for Papa Johns, and Bojangles is apparently on the market again. Buyers appear eager to take on certain types of restaurant chains.

The quick-service pizza chain debuted the new Croissant Pizza in Dubai before it heads to other global locations. U.S. fans will have to travel to get a taste.

The pizza chain’s same-store sales fell 3% last quarter, but the company is seeing improving results through the current period while transactions turn positive. The company’s stock took off.

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