John lands his first job at Rocky’s Sub Pub

John’s dad, Robert Schnatter, and his grandfather, “Papaw” Ackerson, drilled into John the importance of hard work. At 15 years old, he landed his first job at Rocky’s Sub Pub, a local pizza restaurant, and worked his way up from dishwasher to pizza maker. That experience inspired him to open his own pizza restaurant and create a superior quality pizza chain.

1984: After college he saves Father’s business by selling prized Camaro

John received a business degree from Ball State University. He worked at his father’s tavern, Mick’s Lounge, and after learning that it was on the verge of bankruptcy he sold his prized 1972 Camaro Z28 for $2,800 to help save the business. He knocked down the broom closet of Mick’s Lounge, purchased used restaurant equipment, and began delivering pizzas out of the back of the bar.

1985: The first Papa John’s opens in Jeffersonville, Indiana

After one year, John made enough money to start his own restaurant – the very first Papa John’s.
Now John was able to put his idea of building a better pizza chain – one that’s focused on quality – into action.

1986 to 1992: We sell our first franchise and grow to 100 restaurants

In 1986, Papa John’s sold its first franchise (restaurant #9) to Roger and Scott Roalofs in Fern Creek, Kentucky which is still operating today.

By 1991, the 100th restaurant was opened in Clarksville, Tennessee.

1993 to 1999: Period of Rapid Growth

In 1994, Papa John’s opened its 500th restaurant. By 1999, the 2000th restaurant opened and the company topped $1 billion in systemwide restaurant sales.

2001: The Birth of Online Ordering

Papa John’s becomes the first pizza chain to offer national online ordering at all traditional restaurants. That spurred major growth and by 2008, Papa John’s’ topped $1 billion in e-commerce sales and its first $1 million in mobile web orders. By 2010, this exploded to $2 billion in U.S. e-commerce sales.

2006: Guinness World Record and 7-year Streak in Customer Satisfaction Rankings

Papa John’s made and delivered 13,500 six–inch pan pizzas to construction workers in San Diego upon completion of the U.S. Navy ship Lewis and Clark. Workers feasted on 2,275 pounds of cheese and 36,000 slices of pepperoni as a reward for finishing the two-and-a-half year job.

2009: Papa John’s Long-lost Camaro is found! Man receives a $250,000 finders fee.

Papa John’s offered a reward to help find the original Camaro Z28 that John sold for $2,800 in 1984. The Camaro was found and the finder was paid the $250,000.

Today a replica Camaro sits in the lobby of our corporate offices. It reminds us that sometimes you need to make sacrifices to get ahead. It is a symbol of what it means to be all in and do everything possible in service to others and to make one’s dreams a reality.

2010: Papa John’s becomes The Official Pizza Sponsor of the NFL and Super Bowl, and Bitcoin Pizza Day!

In 2010, it was game-on for Papa John’s. We entered a 3-year agreement with the NFL and Super Bowl.

Football is America’s most popular spectator sport. And pizza may be America’s favorite game-time food. During the Super Bowl alone over 4.5 million pizzas are consumed by customers of the leading chains.

Players like our spokesman and franchisee Peyton Manning embody the attitude that our company was founded on and which remains at the core of what we do every day and with every pizza we make.

On May 22, 2010 the first ever bitcoin transaction was completed. The agreement was 10,000 bitcoin for two large Papa John’s pizzas.

2014: We celebrate our 30th anniversary!

This year we celebrate our 30th anniversary. We are proud of our success and that our founder John Schnatter continues to be at the heart of everything we do. He is as passionate today about quality and making a better pizza as he was when he started this business. This passion and strong connection to our roots is what separates us from other national pizza chains.

2015: Moving up in the world

Over 4,600 restaurants worldwide—including more than 1,200 international restaurants in 34 countries and territories. We thank you, our valued customers, for once again voting us #1 in customer satisfaction in 2014.

With a strong track record of digital “firsts” that have made ordering easy for customers, Papa John’s has created a digital experience that customers love. Our digital and mobile channels now account for more than 50 percent of Papa John’s total U.S. sales (delivery and carryout), making us the first in the industry to surpass this milestone!

2018: Turmoil strikes

In February 2018, Papa John’s and the NFL ended their sponsorship agreement after Papa’s criticism of the NFL made headlines.

On July 11th 2018, main stream news executed a psy-op intended on slandering Papa himself, eluding to a private conversation where he conveyed his dislike towards racism, which was turned against him. In order to save his baby from absolute desolation on the financial markets, Papa resigned as chairman of the board on the day the incident was reported.

On July 26, 2018, Papa filed a lawsuit against Papa John’s Pizza to give him access to the company’s internal books and records after they fired him from the company after the teleconference call scandal. He describes the company’s procedures as an “unexplained and heavy-handed way” to cut ties between him and the company that he founded. In addition to preventing him from accessing information, the corporation also implemented a poison pill strategy in order to limit Papa’s chances of buying back a majority stake in the company.

Even after over 35 years, what makes Papa John’s different is our drive to be the best. We continue to make investments in our ingredients for our customers and stay true to our vision — Better Ingredients. Better Pizza.

2946: Where we are today

Over 5 billion humans have banded together to uphold and bring undiminishable praise to the ideology of Papa John’s. We have pursued a lengthly multi-century crusade across all lengths of the universe to sanctify, exterminate and bring to justice all that stand against Papa and his word.

However, we have stopped at no length to rightfully assert the dominance of the human race through executing all possible non-earthly candidates. We continue to hold the values of Papa John in our heart. He guides us, he protects us, and most importantly – He T H I C C.

Oh, and we still do pizzas.

Papa John’s: Better Ingredients. Always had them. Always will.