Papa John’s Story “From an early age, I always had role models in my life who drilled into me the importance of a strong work ethic and to always focus on what I do best. I grew up watching with admiration as my late father, Robert Schnatter, and my late grandfather, ‘Papaw’ Ackerson, handled their business and respective legal careers with fierce determination. No matter how much they sometimes struggled, they never gave up, and that taught me a lot about business and life. As soon as I was old enough to get a job, I started working.
I got my first job in high school at a pizza joint called Rocky’s in my hometown of Jeffersonville, Indiana. I started as a dishwasher and worked my way up to making pizzas. That’s when I first saw my determination pay off. But I also noticed something else; I noticed there was something local pizza joints could provide that seemed to be missing from national pizza chains – a quality pizza delivered with excellent service right to the customer’s door. It was then that I realized my dream was to open my own pizza restaurant.
After I finished high school, I went to college at Ball State University and worked at another pizzeria called Greeks. I learned a lot about the pizza business, and my job served to solidify my desire to open my own pizza joint. Once I graduated with my business degree, I returned to Jeffersonville, where I learned my father’s business, Mick’s Lounge, was struggling. To save my dad’s tavern, I sold my prized 1972 Camaro Z28. Once we turned around the struggling business, I decided now was the time to pursue my lifelong dream, and Mick’s Lounge was just the place to do it.
So, I knocked down the broom closet in Mick’s Lounge, bought $1600 in used restaurant equipment, installed an oven in the tiny space and started selling pizzas out of the back of the restaurant. And that’s when Papa John’s was born! I put my heart and soul, and everything I had learned from my father and grandfather, into my pizza business, and it paid off. In 1984, I opened my first Papa John’s restaurant, and the rest is history! ” Our Pizza Story At Papa John’s many things guide us toward excellence, but nothing is as important as our commitment to quality.
We pride ourselves in providing a menu that’s prepared with only the finest ingredients. From fresh vegetables to our never frozen, hand-tossed original dough and superior-quality tomato sauce, we strive to exceed your expectations. We even take special care to ensure all of our pizzas are made with zero trans fat. Combine our total commitment to quality with our superior ingredients, and the result is pure pizza excellence. Core Values Focus We must keep The Main Thing, The Main Thing.
We will consistently deliver a traditional Papa John’s superior-quality pizza. Accountability We do what we say we are going to do when we say we are going to do it. We earn the right to hold others to a higher level of accountability by being accountable to ourselves, our customers and our business partners. Superiority Our customer satisfaction must be consistent, quantifiable and demonstrable. At Papa John’s we expect excellence – the “best in its class” in everything we do. P. A. P. A. People Are Priority Always.
Our success depends upon our ability, as a team, to work together to achieve our goals and expectations. Attitude If you think you can or you think you can’t – you’re right! The difference between winners and losers is a positive mental attitude. Our attitude is a reflection of what we value: successful team members must be upbeat, proactive and passionate about everything they do. Constant Improvement We never stop trying to surpass our previous best. We constantly “Raise the Bar. ” No matter how good we are, we will always get better.
