DAN VOORHIS
Wichita Eagle
WICHITA, Kan. - Papa John's Pizza is close to opening sit-down restaurants in the Wichita area.
Papa John's, based in Louisville, Ky., has only had carry-out and delivery service.
But the slow-growing market for carry-out and delivered pizza is already crowded with competitors, Terry Newman, vice president for the local Papa John's franchise, said Tuesday.
So Newman wants to move from the pizza carry-out and delivery market to the much larger casual-dining market, to compete against competitors such as Applebee's and Chili's, he said.
The Wichita franchise will pioneer this move for the Papa John's chain, Newman said. He said the first restaurant wouldn't open for several months.
Newman expects pizza to dominate the menu, which will also feature sandwiches, pasta and a salad bar.
It will feel a lot like Pizza Hut, his main competitor, he said.
"I think don't there will be a lot of difference with Pizza Hut," he said. "It will be a sit-down style pizza restaurant, but with a Papa John's feel."
He expects to open one each on the east and west sides.
He would either expand existing Papa John's locations or move the carry-out operation to the restaurant.
Papa John's has 11 locations in the Wichita area.
I haven't been to a decent sit down pizza place since I was a kid. Pizza Hut was the KING back then. I've gone to Cici's Pizza a few times with the kids, but it's just okay...super cheap and worth the money, buy not as good as Pizza Hut was when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteDo you remember how you'd bite into the pizza and the cheese would leave long strings that would almost choke you? I haven't had a pizza like that in 20 years.
Being that Papa John's is a hundred times more delicious under the influence of alcohol, two vital questions arise:
ReplyDelete1. Will they be serving beer at this establishment?
2. Will they remain open until at least midnight?
The best nights in college were those when the Papa John's guy would deliver us a fresh cheese pizza and breadsticks with extra dipping sauce at 3am after a night at the bars. Wash that stuff down with a few more bottles of Honey Brown and you've got what one would surmise as a "great night."
~Carrie =)
Chris: Yeah I remember when Pizza Hut, Pizza Inn and all the rest of the pizzerias at the time used to be cool. They were always really dark with pool hall lighting and that thick layer of cheese on top of the pie. It’s just not the same any more, especially at CiCi’s. They take half of what The Hut used to put on their pizzas and get away with murder. The good thing is that the kids don’t know the difference, but we do :-(
ReplyDeleteCarrie: I’ve never seen a Papa John’s sell beer, but I think they should. Pizza without beer is like fried chicken without biscuits :-)
I’ll have to try some Honey Brown with my next Papa John’s pie. Sounds good.