LONDON, ON. (October 30, 2008) – Papa John’s is pleased to announce the opening of the first Papa John’s Pizza restaurant in London at 275 Wharncliffe North Road, owned by Bajco International, LLC of Niles, Ohio.
Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best will be the special guest at the ‘Ribbon Cutting Ceremony’.
“It is an exciting time for us as we prepare to become part of this great community and serve Papa John’s superior quality Pizza with world-class service to residents of this great city,” said Nadeem Bajwa, Chief Executive Officer of Bajco.
Bajco, which owns and operates 55 restaurants in the United States throughout Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan, has committed to opening an additional 14 Papa John’s restaurants throughout Southwestern Ontario within the next few years.
“We are looking forward to this great opportunity to expand Papa John's brand in Canada,” said Nadeem Bajwa.
In April, Papa John’s announced it had signed development agreements with four franchise groups to build a total of 57 additional restaurants throughout Canada. As of June 30, 2008, there were 19 Papa John’s restaurants open throughout Canada, and more than 3,200 open worldwide, including 501 open in 29 countries outside of the United States.
"Canada is a key focus area for our international expansion,” said Jim Thornton, Papa John’s regional vice president responsible for the Canadian markets. As we expand our footprint into Canada, one thing we want to ensure is that we are working with strong, committed franchise groups like Bajco who can deliver on our Better Ingredients. Better Pizza. brand promise."
Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world's third largest pizza company. For nine years running, consumers have rated Papa John's No. 1 in customer satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the highly regarded American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Papa John's also ranks first among pizza companies in the 2008 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index and was named 2007 Pizza Today Chain of the Year. For more information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa John's at www.papajohns.com
Grand Opening of First PAPA JOHN'S PIZZA Restaurant in London, Ontario
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