Papa John’s founder John Schnatter, who was ousted as CEO in 2017, said the pizza and company are not the same.
In an interview with WDRB-TV in Kentucky, Schnatter said the company he started in 1984 has declined since he was pushed out.
“I’ve had over 40 pizzas in the last 30 days, and it’s not the same pizza,” Schnatter said in the interview, which aired Monday. “It’s not the same product. It just doesn’t taste as good… The way they’re making the pizza is just not fundamental to what makes a Papa John’s pizza.”
He continued, “I would just say ‘Stay tuned.’ The day of reckoning will come.” He declined to elaborate on the comments when asked by the reporter.
He also named executives that he said should be jailed and said the new chief has “no pizza experience.”
Schnatter, who still owns 16.7 percent of the business, has repeatedly demanded he be reinstated as the spokesperson for Papa John’s. He claims that he was set up by when he was recorded using a racial slur while speaking on an internal conference call.
