Global pizza chain Papa Johns enters Bulgaria

The restaurant in Orlandovtsi has a long-standing and experienced management team. The Bulgarian office of the chain will be used mainly for deliveries to the address and training kitchen.

Global pizza chain Papa Johns enters Bulgaria

The first three outlets in Sofia are due to open by the end of the year, with expansion to other cities to follow

The restaurant in Orlandovtsi has a long-standing and experienced management team. The Bulgarian office of the chain will be used mainly for deliveries to the address and training kitchen.

© Tsvetelina Belutova


International pizza chain Papa Johns plans to open three restaurants in Sofia by the end of 2024, as well as to offer fast home delivery, Vladimir Todorov, Papa Johns' general manager for Bulgaria and Romania, told Capital Weekly.

The first outlet of the chain in the country opened on 14 November at 62 Kazbek Street in Sofia with a 68-seat capacity. The second restaurant will be located in Sofia's Mladost 1 district and will open by the end of 2024. The third one will be in the Orlandovtsi district, where the chain has its Bulgarian HQ. This last location will be primarily used for home deliveries and for kitchen staff training, Todorov says.

The expansion programme of the chain envisages seven Papa Johns pizzerias to open in 2025, to be followed by more than 20 by the end of 2027. Most of them will be located in Sofia and some will be in other major cities. "Currently, the closest country in the region where Papa Johns is present is Turkey," Todorov notes.

Slow baked pizza business

Papa Johns is part of the top 3 US-headquartered multinational pizza restaurant chains, along with Domino's, which set up shop in Bulgaria in 2010, and Pizza Hut, which opened in Sofia in 1995 but pulled out in 2011. There are also smaller and larger domestic competitors in the market - for example, Bulgarian chain Pizza Lab operates on a similar model.

The franchise through which Papa Johns operates in Bulgaria is a newly established one - Imfresh, registered in Stara Zagora and owned by Petar Stoyanov. According to Vladimir Todorov, the entry of Papa Johns is supported by an alliance of investors involved in the hotel, restaurant, construction and trade sectors, who will finance the expansion of the chain with own and borrowed funds.

Vladimir Todorov - General Manager of Papa Johns for Bulgaria and Romania: At the heart of Papa Johns' Bulgarian management are people with many years of experience in the industry.
Photographer: Tsvetelina Belutova

Preparations for the entry of Papa Johns in the country include market analysis, finding the most suitable locations, construction of warehouse and logistics space and an administrative building, which will be the headquarters for Bulgaria and Romania, menu selection, recruitment and training of staff. According to the chain's official terms, franchise owners pay a USD 20,000 license fee and a 5% marketing fee. The contract has a term of 10 years with an option for extension.

Menu and promotions

Papa Johns' pizzas will be made of three types of dough: the original with a board on the side, thin without a board, with mozzarella in the crust. "What sets us apart from the competition is the slow-rise dough process - 72 hours in a temperature-controlled environment. The second differentiator is the signature tomato sauce, which is canned the same day the tomatoes are picked, in Papa Johns-approved plants. The sauce is not sold commercially," Todorov says.

In Bulgaria, the chain will offer 20 types of pizzas in four sizes - from 25 to 40 cm, the so-called papadilla (a variant of the quesadilla) a closed sandwich-type pizza, as well as chicken wings, chicken nuggets and mozzarella sticks options. The chain will offer half-price "pizza of the day" Monday through Friday on-site and every Tuesday it will sell two pizzas for the price of one. Delivery will be done through an app and will cost BGN 1.99 and there will be a loyalty program.

The company is now hiring most of its staff, which will be trained in the so-called Pizza Academy. They take exams and get certificates of approval before they start working with clients. As for the management of the chain in Bulgaria, it consists of several people with several decades of cumulative experience in the fast food business in the country.

International pizza chain Papa Johns plans to open three restaurants in Sofia by the end of 2024, as well as to offer fast home delivery, Vladimir Todorov, Papa Johns' general manager for Bulgaria and Romania, told Capital Weekly.

The first outlet of the chain in the country opened on 14 November at 62 Kazbek Street in Sofia with a 68-seat capacity. The second restaurant will be located in Sofia's Mladost 1 district and will open by the end of 2024. The third one will be in the Orlandovtsi district, where the chain has its Bulgarian HQ. This last location will be primarily used for home deliveries and for kitchen staff training, Todorov says.

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