The Willow Glen Resident Photograph by Skye Dunlap Some Like It Hot: The owners of the Papa John's Pizza franchise claim their restaurants use 60 percent of all pepperoncini peppers grown worldwide. Papa John's Pizza brings pepperoncini, garlic dipping sauce to Willow Glen By Michelle Ku Papa John's Pizza, the fastest-growing pizza chain in the nation, is set to open its doors on the corner of Meridian Avenue and Willow Street during the first week of November. "We want to build stores in clusters to begin brand awareness. Willow Glen is right in our cluster of San Jose," said Ken Kaufman, vice president of operations for PJ-S.F. Bay Area Inc., the company that owns Papa John's franchising rights from Gilroy to San Rafael. "We're really excited about being in Willow Glen. All we hear about is how great the community is." On the day Papa John's opens next month, Kaufman plans to hold a party and give away 500 free pizzas. "We want to get the product in people's hands. We want to get them hooked on it," he said. In an already packed and competitive pizza market, which includes major chain restaurants such as Round Table and other privately owned pizza parlors such as Babe's and Willow Street Wood-Fired Pizza, Papa John's is looking forward to carving out its own slice of the pie in Willow Glen. "We know what a booming market Santa Clara County is," Kaufman said. While Papa John's is well-known in the Midwest and Southeast, the Willow Glen location will only be the third Papa John's in Northern California. In June, the first location opened in San Jose on Winchester Boulevard. A Sunnyvale Papa John's opened at Fremont and Mary avenues last month. "We don't have any name recognition here," Kaufman said. "People confuse Papa John's with Papa Murphy's, which is a take-and-bake. We make and bake all our pizzas on site." To create that name recognition, PJ-S.F. Bay Area is banking on producing a quality pizza with quality ingredients and service. The focus of the company is simple, Kaufman said. "We focus on the pizza and just that. We don't offer salads or sandwiches." A delivery and carry-out restaurant, Papa John's menu offers only one type of sauce and pizza crust made with traditional ingredients, such as tomatoes hand-picked in Stanislaus County. What sets Papa John's apart from other pizza restaurants are the trademark tubs of Papa John's garlic dipping sauce and pepperoncini peppers that come with every pizza. "Everybody likes the crust nowadays, and everyone likes to dip it in something," Kaufman said. The cost of a pizza runs from $5.99 for a small 10-inch cheese pizza to $18.99 for the extra-large 16-inch size with "the works." Additional pizzas of equal or smaller size and equal or fewer toppings are available at a reduced price through the "Second Pizza Deal." The store also sells breadsticks, plain or with cheese. Papa John's has a particular way of making its pizzas: The cheese is placed on top of the toppings instead of the other way around. The cheese keeps the toppings hotter longer so that customers won't receive a cold pizza. "We have to educate our customers about our toppings," Kaufman said. "Customers call in asking, 'Where's the pepperoni? Where are our toppings?' " Papa John's offers free delivery only for customers who live within a 10-minute radius from the store so that the quality of the pizza is not sacrificed. Delivery will be available to approximately 25,000 households from Highway 17 to Guadalupe Expressway and San Carlos Street to Foxworthy Avenue. Every pizza that leaves the store's doors must score an eight or higher on the company's 10-point pizza scale, which is based on topping distribution, bubbles and the golden browning of the dough. "Our motto is 'If it's not an eight, we'll remake it,' " Kaufman said. Kaufman previously worked for a Round Table franchisee in Hawaii. "I found a better pizza," he quipped, quoting the national television advertisements featuring the co-founder of Pizza Hut, who is now a Papa John's franchisee. PJ-S.F. Bay Area plans to open another 15 to 20 locations in the San Jose area within two years. Papa John's is a 13-year-old pizza chain founded by then 23-year-old John Schnatter in Louisville, Ky. There are currently 1,783 stores across the nation in 43 states. The chain is also expanding internationally, with locations in Mexico City and stores set to open in Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Papa John's Pizza is located at 1111 Meridian Ave., at the corner of Willow Street. Hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day except Saturday and Sunday, when the store closes at midnight. Call 269-PAPA. [ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, October 28, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.