Papa Johns announced Thursday it will close 300 stores nationwide by 2027, which may include brick-and-mortar locations in the North Bay.
The company is the latest pizza takeout and delivery chain to close hundreds of locations, as it revealed it has had a difficult fourth quarter. According to a fiscal report Thursday of the quarter which ended Dec. 28, Papa Johns reported 6% revenue declines of $498 million. Its net income totaled $9 million, or 21 cents per share — down from $15 million or 44 cents per share the same quarter last year.
In response, the company on Thursday announced that as part of several savings measures, it will close 300 underperforming stores by 2027 and lay off 7% of corporate staff.
While Papa Johns has not yet confirmed the closures of any locations in the Bay Area, the company’s list of store locations in California does not show the Santa Rosa store and it is no longer listed on the company map. It had about 3,500 locations at the end of 2025, according to its annual report.
Harrison Sheffield, senior communications manager for Papa Johns, said Thursday “We do not currently have a list of specific restaurants that could potentially be included in the closures.”
Todd Penegor, president and CEO, said in Thursday’s comments to investors that “These actions, alongside recent changes to our organizational structure to drive efficiencies, provide a strong foundation for our future.”
The fourth quarter report presented Thursday reported a 2% decline in North America same-store sales, due to a downturn in company-owned stores. As a response, the company announced plans to accelerate its re-franchising program to reduce company-owned stores to a mid-single digit percentage of its total portfolio.
Papa Johns CFO Ravi Thanawala said during Thursday’s earnings call that “Optimizing our restaurant portfolio and strategically closing underperforming restaurants are among the most impactful actions we can take to improve restaurant profitability and fleet health. These locations are primarily franchise-owned, over a decade old, and generate AUVs of under $600,000.”
The pizza chain began cost savings measures last year. Penegor said Thursday that “We expect this program to deliver at least $25 million in cost savings outside of marketing through 2027 with approximately $13 million expected to be realized in 2026.”
However, Papa Johns said its new goals include opening 180 to 220 new restaurants across all markets in 2026. It is also simplifying its menu by phasing out Papadias, a flatbread sandwich, and Papa Bites, bite-sized dough balls. The company is testing new toasted sandwiches, made with ciabatta and brushed with the brand’s garlic sauce, and in the United Kingdom introduced chicken tenders with dipping sauces.
“With our new sandwiches increasing sales of non-pizza items in test markets, part of our product innovation work in 2026 is centered around crafting compelling side items at accessible price points, which we believe will entice customers to look beyond the center of the plate, and drive benefits to total ticket sales and four wall margins,” Penegor said. “We know we have to drive on innovation to recruit new customers. We also know we have to compete better at the local level, and we’ve been working hard over the course of the last 18 months.”
The company’s main rival Pizza Hut also announced earlier this month that it was closing about 250 locations in the first half of this year, as parent company Yum! Brands begins a similar review.
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