Papa John's said it will close 200 restaurants this year
Another pizza giant has announced it will close hundreds of restaurant locations as sales plummet. Papa John's said it will close 200 restaurants this year and another 100 by the end of 2027. It will also axe about 7 percent of its HQ staff. This news comes just weeks after rival fast food chain Pizza Hut announced it would shutter hundreds of restaurants, solidifying Domino's as America's most popular pizza franchise. Industry experts say the gap between Domino’s and its rivals has widened in recent years.Domino’s Outpaces Rivals as Papa John’s Shuts Stores Neil Saunders, retail expert at GlobalData, told the Daily Mail: 'Domino’s is in a much stronger position than Papa Johns as it has a better focus on value, is really easy to order from, and has been innovating its menu.' Meanwhile Alicia Kelso, executive editor of Nation’s Restaurant News, said: 'While Domino’s has responded by shifting its attention to carryout, Papa Johns and Pizza Hut weren’t as quickly agile.' Papa John’s has not named the locations that are closing, but said they are 'not meeting brand expectations'. In other words, they have not been selling enough pizzas.Papa John’s Sales Slide Despite New Menu Push The closures follow a dismal October to December quarter, where Papa John's in-store sales slumped 5.4 percent despite adding a variety of new menu items. That included a 'new and improved' pan pizza with a new crispy garlic parmesan crust. For Valentine's Day, the franchise debuted a heart-shaped pizza as a limited-time offering. Reddit users shared their frustration at Papa John's announcement, while others were unsurprised. 'When will these fast food places see the writing on the wall,' one customer wrote. 'Wendy's is in trouble too. Raising prices is one thing, but if you're reducing portions, using cheaper lower quality ingredients, and reducing staff? Come on.' 'Saw this coming,' another said. 'Papa John's in my area have declined to the point where they can't even always fulfill orders anymore.' This slump in sales is not a new trend for the pizza chain. In 2024, Papa John's reported a steep drop in sales , citing 'challenging sales trends' that would continue throughout 2025. That same year, the chain closed 43 'underperforming' stores across the UK. For the fiscal year 2025, Papa Johns reported a 2 percent year-over-year decrease in revenue from North American stores. 'We look forward with confidence in our ability to generate sustainable, profitable growth, and value creation,' Penegor added in the company's earnings release . Papa John's isn't the only pizza chain closing its restaurants. Weeks prior, Pizza Hut announced it would close about 250 locations due to sliding sales. The franchises that would shutter would primarily be 'underperforming' locations, the chain's parent company Yum! Brands said during an earnings call. Despite Domino's closing more than 200 stores post-Covid, that pizza chain remains the largest in the world by both sales and store count. Papa John's is still among the largest pizza chains in the US, coming in fourth after Domino's, Pizza Hut, and Little Caesars. As of 2026, Papa John's has over 3,500 US locations and over 6,000 restaurants total across 50 countries and territories. Daily Mail has reached out to Papa John's for a comment.
