National pizza chain to close 300 restaurants

A massive pizza chain is set to shutter hundreds of stores.

Papa Johns Pizza announced during a late February earnings call that it plans to close approximately 300 stores by the end of 2027. Roughly 200 of those will close by the end of this year.

Papa Johns chief financial officer Ravi Thanawala told CNN the closing stores are not meeting brand expectations, and that closing some will allow the brand to “transfer sales to a nearby restaurant.”

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According to its annual report, at the end of 2025 Papa John’s operated just over 3,500 locations across North America. 

The brand didn’t announce which restaurants it plans to close. Papa Johns currently operates 13 locations in Columbus proper, and many more throughout Central Ohio.

The Papa Johns closures come after Pizza Hut announces plans to close 250 stores in the first half of the year.

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