Sept. 12, 2024
I’m one month into my 100 day onboarding plan and each day has given me the chance to meet and learn from many great people in the Papa Johns family. In particular, I’ve enjoyed learning firsthand from our talented franchisee partners operating restaurants across North America and gaining an understanding of the many strengths of our brand and seeing opportunities to achieve even higher levels of excellence in every new Papa Johns restaurant we build, every pizza we craft and every touchpoint we make with our customers.
In Los Angeles, I had the pleasure of meeting with franchisees from the area, including Bobby Barrios, the husband-and-wife team Jarvis and Josslyn Young, James Goeppinger, Johnathan Miller and Mones Abdelwahab, to name a few, as well as franchise partners who are meeting the challenges of operating in other high-cost markets like Idaho, Oregon and Washington. We are working together to create the right model for delivery and pricing, while ensuring we still provide the great experience and value our customers expect. We visited three restaurants and all pitched in to make pizzas during dinner rush. My pizza making skills are improving, but I still have a lot more practicing to do before I can throw dough like our pros!
Franchise Advisory Council members Bill Green, Matt O’Donnell and Nadeem Bajwa joined us for a roundtable discussion. Nadeem, who operates Papa Johns restaurants across the Midwest and in Arizona, Pennsylvania and Florida, recently signed a deal to open 50 new restaurants over the next five years. What an incredible journey it has been for Nadeem – he started out as a delivery driver more than 30 years ago and is now one of Papa Johns largest franchisees!
Nadeem at the beginning of his Papa Johns journey, circa 1992.
Next stop was Cleveland, where I met with franchisees including Dennis Shen, Steve Raneri and Musa Jundi. Musa has done a great job at leading his teams to engrain themselves into the neighborhoods they serve. Musa and his team pride themselves on maintaining an environment in their restaurants that their team members and customers can be proud of. When you visit one of Musa’s restaurants, you can’t help but feel energized and connected to the people there. That type of culture isn’t just a “happy accident” – it is built with intention and cultivated with purpose.
Everyone is all smiles on Musa’s team!
For example, at a restaurant managed by franchisee Yasir Hussein, the General Manager, Adrianna shared with me the ambitious goals her team has set for the year. Even at young ages, team members like Adrianna are learning to build success for themselves and their teams – truly one of the most rewarding parts of the franchising model. And who knows what the future holds for someone like Adrianna – maybe one day she will be a franchisee herself!
So proud of Adrianna’s achievements!
Whether someone is just starting their career like Adrianna, growing their business and community like Musa and Yasir, or building the restaurant industry of the future like Nadeem, the Papa Johns promise goes beyond Better Ingredients. Better Pizza. It also means better connections to the people and communities we serve, and better opportunities to improve those communities and the lives of the people who call them home.
Still so many great people to meet, pizza to taste and growth to unlock together. When it comes to our potential, there are no limits. Talk to you next time on Todd’s Take!
