Before His Downfall, John Schnatter Built a Pizza Empire

John Schnatter, founder and former CEO of Papa John’s, has been in and out of headlines for the past couple of years, starting with reports of his use of a racial slur during a conference call in 2018 and his subsequent resignation as Chairman of the Board (a move he has come to regret). By July of 2018, the company was publically distancing itself from Schnatter, removing him from all of its previously heavily founder-oriented advertising. 

But before his downfall, Schantter built an empire. One that began as a small pizza operation started in his father’s tavern and grew into one of America’s most popular pizza franchises. Personal failings aside, that success is owed largely to a killer business model. 

After founding Papa John’s in 1984, Schnatter found nearly instant success in his hometown of Jeffersonville, Indiana, and he quickly moved to bring his pizza to markets across the country. In 1993, he took Papa John’s public and introduced his franchising model. A year later, the brand had expanded to 500 stores. 

By 1997, Schnatter had achieved his goal of national expansion, with more than 1,500 stores in nearly every U.S. state.

At a time when most pizza chains were emphasizing fast delivery, Schnatter positioned his brand as the quality option, highlighting fresh, high-quality ingredients in the brand’s advertising. And it was not just a marketing angle. Schnatter established a pipeline of distributers that allowed every Papa John’s to have fresh ingredients in-store. 

That focus on rapid expansion and a high-quality product allowed Papa John’s to carve out an enviable niche in the food-service segment, one that remains formidable even after Schnatter’s public downfall.

Today, Schnatter is no longer the CEO or the face of Papa John’s, and the brand continues to distance itself from the man who many see as increasingly unhinged. But his business model is still in place, and it still works, which should tell us everything we need to know about the importance of a strong franchise model.