The Great Franchisees: Brad and Jennifer Langford, Oath Pizza, Pacific Northwest

Parents make lasting impressions on their children; that’s obvious if you look at the second generation of franchise business owners, Brad and Jennifer Langford. As longtime owners of multiple Papa Murphy’s locations in the Seattle area, the Langfords and Oath Pizza plan to make a lasting impact one pie at a time as they open three locations in the Seattle market. Developed on the seaside of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, Oath Pizza shop is currently in 30 communities around the country and is now bound for another seaside home.

We spoke with Brad and Jennifer about this new adventure in the Pacific Northwest.

1851: What did you do before franchising? 

Brad Langford: I grew up in Salem, Oregon, and studied exercise science at Oregon State University. After college, I worked for Horizon Airlines and trained all the employees involved in the backend operations, such as getting the plane down the taxiway. My wife, Jennifer, and I bought our first Papa Murphy’s franchise location in 1995 in the Seattle market and have had seven locations here locally for 20 years. We even branched out beyond the state and opened one in Peoria, Illinois, in 2000. CafeYumm! was our next investment. For over eight years, we’ve owned and operated the location in downtown Seattle.

1851: Can you tell us a little about the process of researching your next investment?

Langford: We are always looking! Already being in the franchise and restaurant industry, sometimes something will just trigger you to jump in and dig around. Jennifer’s parents grew up in Taco John’s restaurants, and the other side of her family owns McDonald’s restaurants, so she has a lifetime of restaurant experience. Being in the restaurant industry for over 25 years, we feel comfortable about franchising but had to ask many questions about Oath Pizza.

1851: What made you say “yes” to Oath Pizza? 

Langford: Being an operation-focused owner, when I read about Oath Pizza’s business model, I realized they had found a way to streamline their operations and customer service to make the bottom line work while providing an amazing product; it surprised me. You can have the best product in the world, but if operationally you can’t take the development of a product and streamline it through operations, customer service and ultimately, market it to your customers, it doesn’t matter how great it tastes. After I spoke with Drew via Zoom, we decided my daughter, Emily, and I would fly out to DC (Fairfax, VA) for a week and try the pizza — we ate a lot of pizza! I was shocked at how great this product tasted and, more importantly, the bottom line added up. I know pizza, and while Papa Murphy’s serves a great product, Oath Pizza found a way to flash-freeze and maintain the flavor of their amazing dough. Their crust is some of the best I have ever tasted. Oath has definitely figured out how to hang onto that quality and taste, create excellent operations and employ a small staff while continuing to give great customer service. The numbers work, and the taste backs it up. Once I had their pizza, I was shocked at how much I loved it, and my daughter agreed. The local pizza here in Seattle doesn’t measure up. 

1851: Plans for growth? 

Langford: I hope to do 30-50 locations with Oath Pizza, not just in the Seattle area. We’ve found something we can get behind and be passionate about. I’m very competitive; it’s all about the thrill of the chase for me. We’ve found a brand we love, and now we can take it to the masses. The process is what we love. Our oldest daughter, Emily, is graduating from Oregon State University with a degree in business management this spring, and we are already involving her in this process. This will be a family adventure. Both our daughters, which includes our youngest, Hailey, have worked with us all along.

About Oath Pizza:

Oath Pizza is a better-for-you craft pizza brand on a mission to make it easier to eat better without giving up the foods you love. Founded on Nantucket Island in 2015, Oath has expanded with locations across the country and nationwide shipping via Goldbelly®. Oath recently launched its unique franchise opportunity, now available to like-minded franchise partners. Learn more at oathpizza.com.