...Capitol City A&E Magazine...
John Schnatter's commitment to establishing his own pizzeria began early and was powerful from the outset. As a student at Ball State University, he was so confident in his vision that he designed the logo for his pizza company, a logo which is still used today. Schnatter's first step towards his dream occurred in March of 1984, when he grabbed a sledgehammer and knocked out a wall of Mick's Tavern in Jeffersonville, IN, so that he might install a pizza oven. A year later, he opened his first official Papa John's
restaurant, and from the beginning he stressed not only the quality of his pizza but also the efficiency of its delivery. While the first Papa John's enjoyed immediate success, Schnatter still began his career as a restaurateur sleeping in a back room of his establishment as to save money on rent. Again, Schnatter understood the value of not only culinary skills, but also business smarts to any venture into the competitive restaurant field.
In January of 1986, Schnatter sold the first Papa John's franchise, and soon he began to expand his initial dream. He would not only own his own pizzeria; he would also begin a national chain of them. Soon, his company's popularity grew and new stores began to emerge at a rapidly increasing rate. By 1991, there were 100 Papa John's locations, and three years later the 500th store opened in Atlanta. In 1993 Schnatter had instigated the company's first public offering, which netted eighteen million dollars and which continued Schnatter's legacy of wise business decisions to complement his pizza. In April, 1995, Papa John's Pizza celebrated its tenth birthday, and 695 stores existed to attend the party. Today, new branches continue to emerge, and now the company has begun a catering business here in Austin. From the beginning, Papa John's has remained rooted in a tradition of small town restaurants combined with a global business sense, and now there are a number of stores in this area to spread Schnatter's childhood dream.
The Papa John's driver chosen to deliver my pizza passed his first test with flying colors: he found my house with no apparent difficulty, as the pizza he brought with him was hot and fresh at my doorway. Although I live close to the MLK franchise, my apartment is hidden above a garage of of an alley, so the driver's proficiency was surely tested. We ordered a pizza with pepperoni, ground beef, bell peppers, onions, and extra cheese, a selection which has proved daunting to many lesser pizzerias, as its ingredients tend to deteriorate into a greasy mess. Papa John's, however, handled the challenge with ease. The toppings were plentiful yet not overdone, and the thin crust handled its heavy load with ease, maintaining its structural integrity to the end. The ground beef was well seasoned, but again retained some sense of subtlety. It would be easy to distinguish between this refreshingly tasty ground beef and sausage, another challenge which often haunts lesser pizza establishments. Finally, the pizza sailed through its final test, the test of time. Hours after we had finished stuffing ourselves, the last couple of pieces were still tasty and texturally sound, even though we made no effort whatsoever at proper storage (in fact, we left the pizza box open on the kitchen table when we left the house for the evening). As a delightful extra touch, Papa John's included a handful of pickled pepperocinis and a container of "special garlic sauce" with the pizza. While the garlic sauce unfortunately did not appeal to my taste, the peppers were a welcome addition.
Papa John's Pizza is a superb pizza delivery restaurant. The drivers are fast and friendly, the pizza is tasty, and the phone staff seemed friendly enough. Papa John's is apparently adding more restaurants in Austin, and their influence should severely test the area's other pizza deliverers. There are simply no substantive reasons not to sample Papa John's fare. _ _ _
