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As a franchise owner who has been with the brand for nearly 25 years, Jeff Rode first became involved with <a href="http://papamurphysfranchise.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=a-day-in-the-life-jeff-rode-papa-murphys-franchisee-2703875" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Papa Murphy&rsquo;s</a> in 1993 after he was suddenly let go from his job of 16 years. While searching for a new opportunity, he made a choice to pursue only the things he truly felt passionate about.

&ldquo;I knew I liked cooking and I liked being around people, but I didn&rsquo;t have the resources to open a full restaurant,&rdquo; Rode said. &ldquo;Like just about everyone in America, I liked pizza, and when I discovered Papa Murphy&rsquo;s for the first time, I knew I&rsquo;d found something great.&rdquo;

Rode did his due diligence and found strong backing, a solid Average Unit Volume (AUV) and an exciting opportunity for future growth. He opened his first store in Yuba City, California in 1993.

&ldquo;To be candid, it was a miserable failure for the first few years,&rdquo; Rode said. &ldquo;But, I believed in the brand, and I stuck with it and created marketing opportunities. We went out every day and pushed <a href="https://papamurphys.1851franchise.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=a-day-in-the-life-jeff-rode-papa-murphys-franchisee-2703875" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Papa Murphy&rsquo;s</a> to school programs. We pushed local store marketing efforts. We went out every day and put our pizza in peoples&rsquo; mouths. Once the community discovered that taste, momentum started shifting our way.&rdquo;

The second event that truly tied Papa Murphy&rsquo;s to Jeff Rode&rsquo;s life was a big flood in 1994. The flood ended up shuttering many local businesses for weeks, and Rode&rsquo;s location was one of the only places to reopen quickly. Rode redoubled his commitment to his community, holding a fundraiser for the American Red Cross, and earning many new, loyal customers in the process.

&ldquo;The Yuba City location became the top selling store in the system by 2002,&rdquo; Rode said. &ldquo;It was the first $1 million unit in the system, and we were really proud of that. &nbsp;We worked really hard, putting in the time and the sweat equity to make it happen. By then, we had opened three other Papa Murphy&rsquo;s units in Grass Valley and Auburn, and they were all doing well. So, in 2006, we engineered our exit strategy, sold our stores and then retired.&rdquo;

Unfortunately, that retirement didn&rsquo;t last. In 2008, the nation was hit with the biggest economic downturn in a generation as the Great Recession wiped out retirement savings for millions of Americans, including Rode.

&ldquo;So, I got back into the game as a consultant, and I learned that there were some Papa Murphy&rsquo;s locations for sale in Illinois. I said &lsquo;no thanks&rsquo; initially, but the draw was still there. So, we decided to take them over,&rdquo; Rode said of the third critical event.

Rode now owns four Papa Murphy&rsquo;s units, and is as involved as he&rsquo;s ever been. He knows the importance of being a &ldquo;hands-on&rdquo; franchise owner and is still heavily involved in day-to-day decision-making.

&ldquo;I go into the store every day&mdash;the one in Decatur where we live. My wife Maria works daily with all the stores as well from more of an office standpoint. [Our business partner] Ray goes to the other three, and his wife works with them every day handling our LSM calendar. That&rsquo;s important. The face to face needed to get people in to try our products needs to be done at the store level,&rdquo; Rode said.

In fact, Rode believes the owner-operator model is superior across just about every facet of franchising.

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s critical for the owner to be involved. The owner involvement is part of our six fundamentals. It wasn&rsquo;t when we started. Now, it&rsquo;s a huge part. When the company began to grow and move east [from its start in the Pacific Northwest], that became one of the major tenants. I can&rsquo;t think of an area developer that&rsquo;s been successful that has been hands off,&rdquo; Rode said.

However, Rode explains that his daily priorities have changed a bit.

&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t open and close anymore. There was a point where I went in and ran the store by myself. That&rsquo;s because there wasn&rsquo;t anybody else. I don&rsquo;t have to do that now, but I do analyze the numbers and I still lend help wherever it&rsquo;s needed,&rdquo; he said.

Rode says some days can still be challenging. But, he believes Papa Murphy&rsquo;s has a unique ability for long-term growth due to positive changes in brand marketing, culture and a focus on what sets the company apart from its competitors: its simple business model, ease of operation and fresh, home-baked product at a low price.

&ldquo;I still totally believe in the brand,&rdquo; Rode said. &ldquo;There are challenges, for sure, but we&rsquo;ve seen how successful we can be when we&rsquo;re running on all cylinders. We&rsquo;re moving in the right direction to be successful again.&rdquo;

And, a little serendipity plus a lot of his signature dedication may even bring more Papa Murphy&rsquo;s stores into Rode&rsquo;s life.

&ldquo;Knowing how the brand grew, what the potential is, and what sets it apart&hellip;the right time could come again,&rdquo; Rode added with a laugh. &ldquo;There are definitely places I&rsquo;d put another store if I thought the investment was a wise one.&rdquo;

&nbsp;

Papa Murphy's, growing franchise, pizza franchise, make at home pizza

A Day in the Life: Jeff Rode, Papa Murphy’s Franchisee

1851 Franchise

Through three unexpected events, Papa Murphy’s has been the answer for Jeff Rode.

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