PIZZA PROBLEMS
Papa John's closing 300 restaurants as U.S. pizza sales slump
Papa John's Pizza is closing up to 300 of its restaurants.
Call it pizzageddon. Papa John’s is shedding approximately 300 underperforming locations after a brutal fourth quarter, joining a growing list of faltering pizza chains. The move already appears to have affected at least one of its San Antonio restaurants.
The closures were announced during a February 26 earnings call. While the company did not reveal a list of the locations it plans to shutter by 2027, the Papa John’s at 2296 Bandera Rd. recently updated its Yelp status to closed and has disconnected its ordering number. It’s unclear whether the recently revealed corporate strategy played into the decision.
The Papa John’s closures follow a more than five-percent drop in same-store sales in North America. In a widely circulated media statement, CEO Todd Penegor said the results “reflected a weak consumer backdrop and elevated promotional environment.”
That “consumer backdrop” includes a dining public that seems to have soured on commercial pies. In recent years, the overall pizza landscape has been fraught for national chains. Papa John’s, Blaze Pizza, and Mod Pizza have closed units as dining shifts increasingly favor more “interesting” concepts offering Nashville-style hot chicken and global flavors.
In early January, the Wall Street Journal reported that pizzerias are no longer the second most popular chain format in the U.S., falling below Mexican restaurants and coffee shops to sixth place.
The climate is also affecting one of Papa John’s chief rivals. Earlier in February, Plano-based Pizza Hut announced its plans to close 250 locations after its value initiatives, like the $5 Crafted Flatzz personal pizza, failed to take hold with customers.
It’s unclear if any other San Antonio Papa John’s will be shuttering. The company said it is hoping to complete most of the closures by 2026, with a few more following in 2027.
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