Multi-Unit Franchisee Successfully Diversifies Portfolio with Papa Murphy's

When Ryan McCallister first broke into the franchising industry, it wasn’t intentional. After studying hotel management at the University of Denver, he never thought he’d pursue a career in restaurant operations. However, when an opportunity presented itself to get involved with Subway, he couldn’t turn it down.

12 years later, McCallister couldn’t imagine himself doing anything else. He currently operates 10 locations with the sandwich franchise, and is constantly on the lookout for new restaurant franchising opportunities. That’s how he came across Papa Murphy’s, the nation’s leading take ’n’ bake pizza chain.

“I first heard about Papa Murphy’s through one of the brand’s other franchisees who was relocating and looking to sell his location. As soon as I crunched the numbers and did some research into the brand, I knew I wanted to be a part of Papa Murphy’s franchise system,” said McCallister. “The brand has carved out a completely unique position for itself in the booming pizza industry. There isn’t anything else out there that comes close to matching its level of quality.”

Instead of serving pizzas made of low-quality ingredients that get cold before they ever reach the dinner table, Papa Murphy’s helps customers create custom pies that they can take home and bake in their ovens for about 15 minutes. Their dough is scratch-made, the mozzarella is shredded from 40-pound blocks, and vegetables are always freshly chopped in every store, every day.

“It’s been incredibly easy to diversify with Papa Murphy’s. The model is similar to Subway in that customers can see their meals being made right in front of them. But Papa Murphy’s presents a unique opportunity that Subway is lacking—it isn’t completely saturated in markets across the country. There’s still so much room for growth with the fresh pizza brand, making it an exciting time to be one of its franchisees,” McCallister said.

Papa Murphy’s is currently expanding at rapid rates by opening its doors for business in new communities across the country. That growth is being spearheaded by franchisees like McCallister, who currently has two locations. However, he’s planning to grow significantly with the brand. Ultimately, McCallister wants to open 18 more locations by end of 2020.

“Even though the company has been around for 35 years, we still have the opportunity to get in on the ground level of a widely successful regional and national brand. The door is wide open for business owners like myself to become major players in the Papa Murphy’s system,” said McCallister. “I’m looking forward to opening up more locations and being a part of a brand that brings people together through food people love.”