View source for Papa John’s Pizza

'''Papa John's''' is a national delivery chain from Louisville, Kentucky. It came to Madison in the autumn of 1996, when the market had just been left by [[Domino’s Pizza|Domino's]] and [[Little Caesar’s|Little Caesar's]].

==History==
* October 1996: the first help-wanted advertisements<ref name="wsj-1996-10-06-p93">(1996, October 6). Help-wanted advertisement, Papa John's (first mention in Madison). ''Wisconsin State Journal''. p. 93. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/405274226/ 405274226]. Seen in search results only; the page has not been read.</ref>.
* About November 1996: the first store opens at [[515 University Avenue|515 University Ave.]], in the LaCiel apartment building on campus<ref name="ct-1997-02-08-p40">Kalk, S. (1997, February 8). "Papa John's finds niche." ''The Capital Times''. p. 40. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/519930305/ 519930305].</ref>.
* February 1997: Samara Kalk reviews it in "Cheap Eats". A second store at East Washington Avenue and Milwaukee Street is to open in March, followed by Middleton, Sun Prairie and Raymond Road<ref name="ct-1997-02-08-p40" />.
* August 15, 1997: the third Madison-area store opens at 6615 University Ave. in Middleton, which the franchisee, Bob Tobe, makes his Wisconsin office. He plans a Sun Prairie store in October and three to five more by the summer of 1998<ref name="ct-1997-08-14-p21">(1997, August 14). Briefly: Papa John's Pizza to open its third Madison-area location, 6615 University Ave., Middleton. ''The Capital Times''. p. 21. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/522165703/ 522165703].</ref><ref name="wsj-1997-08-15-p8">Winter, E. (1997, August 15). Changes: Papa John's Pizza opens its third Madison-area restaurant, 6615 University Ave., Middleton. ''Wisconsin State Journal''. p. 8. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/401985772/ 401985772].</ref>.

==Pizza==
"The company does have a couple of unusual signature touches", Kalk wrote in 1997: a hand-thrown crust "with a huge outer lip that doubles as a soft breadstick", a small container of garlic dipping sauce in the corner of the box, and two large pepperoncini with each pizza. A small 10-inch cheese pizza was $5.30<ref name="ct-1997-02-08-p40" />.

==Trivia==
* Kalk began her review with the state of the market: "It seemed, for a while at least, that Madison had reached a saturation point for pizza delivery chains. Just two years ago national giants Little Caesar's and Domino's had nearly 20 Madison and area locations between them", and now only a Little Caesar's pizza station in a Kmart remained. "Which all goes to show that Pizza Pit rules this town"<ref name="ct-1997-02-08-p40" />.
* The franchisee's view of the competition: Pizza Hut known for variety, Domino's for delivery, Little Caesar's for being cheap, and Papa John's for quality<ref name="ct-1997-02-08-p40" />.
* In 1997 Papa John's had 1,200 stores after ten years and was the fastest-growing pizza chain<ref name="ct-1997-02-08-p40" />.
* A delivery driver was robbed in the parking lot of the University Avenue store in February 1997<ref name="wsj-1997-02-04-p11">(1997, February 4). "Armed man robs pizza deliverer." ''Wisconsin State Journal''. p. 11. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/405346931/ 405346931].</ref>.

==Locations==
* [[515 University Avenue|515 University Ave.]] (from about November 1996)
* East Washington Avenue at Milwaukee Street (planned for March 1997)
* 6615 University Ave., Middleton (from August 15, 1997)

==See also==
* [[Item:Q1080|Papa John's in the Madison Pizza Wiki database]]

==Notes==
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