Papa John's Pizza

About Us

Well, for starters, we didn't start our business in a boardroom. We started it in a broom closet. Back in 1984, our Founder, John Schnatter (that's Papa John to you) sold his beloved muscle car to buy pizza-making equipment. Armed with only an oven and a love for making quality pizza, John opened the very first Papa John's in the crowded broom closet of his father's tavern.

Over the years, this passion for making better pizza informed every decision and pizza we made... because the last thing we wanted to be was a pizza company. So instead of chopping vegetables with machines, we chop them by hand every day. Instead of investing in gimmicks, we invest in fresh ingredients. And we pile them high on our fresh, never-frozen original dough.

Today, we've surrounded ourselves with like-minded people with a passion for making better pizza, including franchisees, suppliers, athletes, pizza makers, and farmers we've known for over 30 years. Like our friend Dino in California—he grows the best tomatoes.

In the end, John's desire to create a better pizza built more than a pizza company... he built a pizza family.