Papa John's Carlow
As a high school student working at a local pizza pub in Jeffersonville, Indiana, U.S.A., Papa John's founder John Schnatter felt there was something missing from national pizza chains – a superior-quality traditional pizza delivered right to the customer's door. His dream was to one day open a pizza restaurant that would fill that void.
In 1983, John picked up his business degree from Ball State University and went back to Jeffersonville, Indiana. There, at the age of 22, he knocked down the broom closet of his father's tavern (Mick's Lounge), purchased $1600 worth of used restaurant equipment, and began delivering pizzas out of the back of the bar.
From day one, John knew he could make a better pizza by using fresh dough and superior-quality ingredients, and he refused to sway from that commitment to quality. It worked, and people loved his pizza. In 1984, John opened his first Papa John's restaurant, and Papa John's has been going strong ever since. Today, Papa John's is the recognized leader of the pizza category and now owns or franchises more than 3,500 restaurants in 30 countries around the world.
In 2004, Pat McDonagh, founder of Supermac's, spotted an opportunity in the Irish market for a high quality, traditional pizza offering. Having experienced Papa John's on business trips to the U.S., Pat was confident Papa John's was the only pizza he wanted to serve in his restaurants and thus a partnership was born between Papa John's and Supermac's. Today, Supermac's holds the master franchise for Papa John's on the island of Ireland and to date has opened over 40 Papa John's outlets within existing Supermac's stores around the country.
