Papa Johns announced it plans to close about 300 stores across the United States by the end of 2027.
The announcement was made by the Kentucky-based pizza chain during an earnings call on Thursday, USA Today reported. The company also said during the call that it has cut its corporate workforce by 7%.
“We are taking action to better align corporate and field resources with our transformation priorities and optimize spans and layers in our organizations,” said Todd Penegor, Papa John’s CEO, during the call.
It is currently unknown which stores the pizza chain intends to close or exactly when the closures will take place, USA Today said. The company had 3,523 locations in the United States as of the end of 2025, according to financial filings.
Papa Johns lists 78 Pennsylvania locations, including around 15 in the Pittsburgh region.
Ravi Thanawala, Papa Johns’ CFO and North America president, said he expects about 200 closures to occur in 2026, according to the announcement.
The closing stores are primarily franchisee-owned and “are not meeting brand expectations or lack a clear path to sustainable financial improvement,” Thanawala said. The locations generate “negative four-wall” income and are over a decade old as well, he said.
Papa Johns reported a 2% year-over-year decrease in its revenue from North American stores in fiscal year 2025 in its earnings release, according to USA Today. Revenue at company-owned restaurants was down 3%, and franchised restaurants were down 2%.
The pizza chain saw a 1% increase in global sales for 2025 when compared to the prior year, USA Today said, and this sales growth was supported by the international market, which saw a 5% increase in sales.
“Select strategic closures will allow our North American franchisees to redirect resources to drive operational excellence in their core restaurants and accelerate growth in priority markets,” Thanawala said.
