Papa Johns wants to get out of the restaurant operations business and more into the franchising business. The chain recently sold 85 locations in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. to big-time franchisee Chris Patel of Pie Investments. Patel’s company already owns 150 Papa Johns locations and aims to reach 250 by 2030.
The move is part of CEO Todd Penegor’s plans to reduce Papa Johns’ company-owned footprint from 545 locations to “mid-single-digit” levels over the next two years— a model favored by franchise giants like McDonald’s.
The refranchising strategy makes sense when you look at the numbers. Papa Johns’ company-owned locations have underperformed franchised restaurants for at least two years, with same-store sales down 2.5% at corporate units versus 1.3% at franchised locations through the first three quarters.
Meta Kicks ChatGPT and Copilot Off WhatsApp
Meta wants WhatsApp all to itself. That’s the message it sent after changing its terms of service, which now ban AI companies from using the messaging app to distribute chatbots not made by Meta.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot are both leaving the platform by January 15th after WhatsApp updated its Business Solution terms. ChatGPT users can link their accounts to WhatsApp to preserve chat history, though Copilot users won’t have that option. Other third-party AI chatbots including Perplexity are likely to announce departures soon.
WhatsApp announced the change in October, banning AI companies from using its business API as a distribution platform while still permitting businesses to use it for customer service or support chatbots. This means companies can’t use WhatsApp when the AI itself is the product—a straightforward way of stopping Meta’s AI rivals from reaching customers on its own platform.
The Most Hated Man in College Football Is About to Be the Richest Coach Ever
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Lane Kiffin has irritated more fanbases than any coach in recent memory, but that hasn’t stopped a potential bidding war for his services. With Ole Miss 10–1 and ranked No. 6, his Rebels are on the brink of their first College Football Playoff appearance, but no one is sure he’ll still be there if they make it.
Kiffin has spent the past few weeks openly flirting with massive vacancies at Florida and LSU, pitting three powerhouse programs against each other. Fans are tracking his family’s jet and staking out airports as rumors swirl. That frenzy has created a bidding war expected to make him the highest-paid coach in college football history.
He’s never won a national title, but schools believe his offense is worth the drama. If he jumps ship again, it may confirm what college football already knows: Lane Kiffin doesn’t stay anywhere long, but he always leaves richer.
Amazon’s Drone Ambitions Hit Another Snag — This Time in Someone’s Backyard
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Amazon’s plan to blanket America with drone deliveries ran into turbulence in Texas. The FAA is investigating after one of the company’s MK30 drones clipped an internet cable in Waco and brought it down while departing from a customer’s yard. The drone completed the delivery but became tangled in the line on its way out.
Amazon said the drone performed a “safe contingent landing” and paid for the repair. Luckily, no injuries were reported, and the company apologized to the customer.
The incident adds to Amazon’s list of growing headaches. Investigators recently examined a separate Arizona crash involving two Prime Air drones hitting a construction crane.
Gen Z Says They’ll Skip Black Friday This Year
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Gen Z says they’re going to take a hard pass on Black Friday this season. According to a new survey commissioned by AT&T, many young shoppers say they plan to wait for deals in December or even January.
That shopping shift could reshape holiday shopping patterns. Retailers who count on a big early-season surge may find themselves scrambling as more consumers hold out for post-holiday discounts, rather than rushing for early sales.
And there’s another warning sign for retailers. Consulting firm PwC reported in September that Gen Z shoppers plan to spend 23 percent less on average this holiday season than a year ago — the biggest drop of any generation. It’s a sharp reversal from last year, when Gen Z said they planned to spend 37 percent more.
PJ’s Coffee Franchisee Breaks Sales Record Using This Strategy
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Tance Hughes opened big in a small Mississippi town by treating his PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans like a local business instead of a corporate chain. That move broke the brand’s opening day sales record.
In a profile featured in Franchise Times, Hughes says he spent a year before his March 2023 opening in Natchez, Mississippi building hype like an Apple product launch. He showed the construction progress on Facebook and distributed free products to familiarize the town’s 14,000 residents with the menu. It worked. The café has generated around $750,000 annually since.
His biggest lesson: corporate marketing materials won’t cut it in small towns where personal connections matter most. “Anytime we focus our efforts on highlighting people and events going on in our community, we see so much more success because that’s what makes it still feel very locally owned,” Hughes said.
Papa Johns wants to get out of the restaurant operations business and more into the franchising business. The chain recently sold 85 locations in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. to big-time franchisee Chris Patel of Pie Investments. Patel’s company already owns 150 Papa Johns locations and aims to reach 250 by 2030.
The move is part of CEO Todd Penegor’s plans to reduce Papa Johns’ company-owned footprint from 545 locations to “mid-single-digit” levels over the next two years— a model favored by franchise giants like McDonald’s.
The refranchising strategy makes sense when you look at the numbers. Papa Johns’ company-owned locations have underperformed franchised restaurants for at least two years, with same-store sales down 2.5% at corporate units versus 1.3% at franchised locations through the first three quarters.
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