Word: schnatterer
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Dates: during 1998-1998
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When it comes to the growth of his company, Schnatter says Papa John's has only begun to expand. Carney alone plans to open at least 600 new stores. To accommodate such whopping increases, Papa John's recently opened a doughmaking commissary in Portland, Ore. It is building another in Pittsburgh, Pa., and plans to add still another in Nevada, which will bring its total to 12. "Now we can get to everywhere in the U.S. and build out," Schnatter says. "We are becoming a national brand." That will give Schnatter even more restaurants to drop in on--and more...
...Schnatter perfected that knack while tending bar in Jeffersonville after graduating in three years from Ball State University. He took a sledgehammer to a broom closet and knocked out space for a small pizza kitchen, which soon grew into a business that became Papa John's in 1985 and went public in 1993. But his demanding manner was not to everyone's taste. No fewer than five top executives, including the company's president, quit in 1995 and 1996, in part because of Schnatter's brusque management style. Says Cheryl Bachelder, executive vice president for marketing at Domino...
Small wonder. Schnatter's 24% stake in Papa John's is worth some $250 million. (Papa John's stock tripled from 1993 to 1997 but has recently been down some 20% from its 52-week high.) Schnatter and his wife and three children live in a brick-and-stone mansion set on nearly 16 landscaped acres in suburban Louisville, Ky. One neighbor Schnatter probably doesn't call on: David Novak, the former boss of Pizza Hut and current president and vice chairman of Pizza Hut parent Tricon Global Restaurants, who lives not far away...
...sounding "remanufactured paste." To rub in more salt, Papa John's called on Pizza Hut co-founder Frank Carney, who sold the chain to PepsiCo in 1977 and now owns more than 70 Papa John's franchises, to declare in television spots, "Sorry, guys, I found a better pizza." Schnatter professes to be delighted that Pizza Hut responded angrily with a lawsuit, which he calls a publicity stunt. "They took the bait," Schnatter says. "We're now a player...
...fact, Pizza Hut has scored some points of its own. Schnatter concedes that Papa John's sauce comes from canned rather than fresh tomatoes--Pizza Hut's sauce is packed in sealed plastic bags--and that Papa John's mushrooms are canned. (Pizza Hut's are fresh.) An unembarrassed Schnatter is switching to fresh mushrooms throughout the Papa John's chain. "I prefer canned mushrooms," he says with a straight face. "But the consumer prefers fresh...