Popular pizza chain sells 85 locations in surprising business move

Although pizza originated successful Italy, the U.S. has arguably made it its own, popularizing iconic determination styles specified arsenic Chicago deep-dish, New York thin-crust, and Detroit quadrate cookware pizza. Over time, pizza has go specified a defining American staple that the world's largest pizza chains are present predominantly U.S.-based.

As of 2025, the apical home pizza chains by full fig of locations see Hunt Brothers Pizza, Domino's Pizza (DPZ), Yum! Brands' Pizza Hut (YUM), Papa Johns, and Marco's Pizza, according to ScrapeHero.

Papa Johns has been a large subordinate successful the manufacture for implicit 4 decades, but amid intensifying competition, adjacent bequest brands look struggles. In the 3rd 4th of 2025, North America comparable income fell 3% twelvemonth implicit year, continuing a astir uninterrupted downward inclination successful its U.S. market.

This diminution led the institution to marque a important displacement successful its edifice portfolio, which could reshape its full concern for years to come.

Papa Johns (PZZA) has sold 85 restaurants successful Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland, to Pie Investments Management, led by Chris Patel, making the radical 1 of the pizza chain's largest U.S. franchisees.

With this acquisition, Pie Investments present operates much than 150 Papa Johns restaurants nationwide. The radical plans to unfastened 52 further units successful the Philadelphia marketplace implicit the adjacent 5 years, aiming to scope 250 locations by 2030.

The restaurants were antecedently owned by Colonel's Limited, LLC, a associated task betwixt Papa Johns and Steeplechase Express, Inc. The group, led by the company's longest-standing franchisee, William Freitas, who is present retiring, opened its archetypal Papa Johns edifice successful 1993 and became an aboriginal adopter of integer channels, helping presumption the marque arsenic 1 of the archetypal large pizza chains to connection online ordering.

"Chris has built a squad of leaders passionate astir pizza, and his awesome grounds successful acquiring restaurants and improving their profitability is good known crossed the Papa Johns system," said Papa Johns CFO and President of North America Ravi Thanawala successful a property release.

This latest merchantability is portion of a broader refranchising initiative. During the third-quarter net telephone for fiscal 2025, Papa Johns stated plans to trim company-owned restaurants successful North America to a mid-single-digit percent of its astir 6,000 planetary locations.

Over the adjacent 2 years, Papa Johns intends to accelerate its home refranchising efforts to thrust profitable maturation and grow into high-demand markets to amended the semipermanent economical exemplary of its restaurants.