Papa John's seeks franchise partners for ‘non-traditional' restaurants

Papa John's is looking to expand beyond the high street and open further restaurants in ‘non-traditional' locations such as holiday parks, stadiums and leisure attractions.

The pizza chain, which has more than 450 sites in the UK, is introducing a new flexible franchising format this year. These restaurants will differ from its typical high street sites and may offer pizza by the slice, be collection only, and trade seasonal or reduced opening hours.

Papa John's already runs a number of restaurants in stadiums and holiday parks and opened a site at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes in December 2020.

Justin Gilbert, director of business development at Papa John's UK, said: "As Papa John's grows in popularity, we want to ensure that our customers can relax and enjoy their favourite treat in even more locations which suit them.

"This may be a franchise package which includes a fully fitted out store, a kiosk, modular unit or a mobile kitchen. We are open to new ideas and look forward to working with operators who are committed to delivering to the communities they serve."

Papa John's said it has various opportunities throughout the UK and is looking for operators to run franchise sites who already have a ‘complimentary business' with an existing customer base.

The pizza chain was founded in the United States in 1984 and runs over 5,000 stores in 40 international markets and territories.