Papa Johns is closing 300 restaurants: What to know

History of Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut has tens of thousands of restaurants in over 100 different countries. No one outpizzas the Hut.

ATLANTA - Papa Johns announced it will close hundreds of restaurants across North America, representing one of the largest downsizings in the company’s history.

According to a spokesperson for Papa Johns, the news was confirmed during the company’s Q4 earnings call.

Papa John’s closing 300 restaurants

What they're saying:

"The vast majority of our global restaurants have performed well over the years and delivered strong returns for both corporate and franchise owners," Ravi Thanawala, Papa Johns' CFO, said in a statement. "However, we have identified approximately 300 underperforming restaurants across North America that are not meeting brand expectations or lack a clear path to sustainable financial improvement, as well as locations where we can effectively transfer sales to nearby restaurants." 

The Papa John's Pizza logo is shown on May 09, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Credit: Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

He said that the locations expected to close are primarily franchise-owned, over a decade old and generate average-unit-volume under $600,000 annually.

When will Papa John’s restaurants close?

What's next:

Thanawala said the company expects to close the majority of the restaurants by the end of 2027, with approximately 200 closures occurring this year.

The company did not specify which cities would be most affected.

Wendy’s to close hundreds of restaurants

Dig deeper:

Last month, the fast-food giant Wendy's also said it would close hundreds of its U.S. restaurants as it looks to focus on value and boost lagging sales in the domestic market.

In the October through December quarter, the fast-food giant reported same-store sales, or sales at restaurants open for at least one year, declined 11.3% in the U.S.