Papa John’s serves up a slice in Bicester

Papa John’s is celebrating the opening of yet another one of its stores in the county of Oxfordshire.

Papa John’s franchisee Bally Brar has been celebrating the opening of his third Papa John’s location. The newest of the pizza franchise’s stores is located in Bicester, Oxfordshire and joins Brar’s two other stores across the county in Abingdon and Didcot.

Since Brar joined the franchise in 2014, he’d made it clear that his ambitions were big and that he wanted to quickly become a multi-store franchisee. He explained:

“I was always keen to run multiple Papa John’s located close to each other. I’m now on-target to open five or six outlets in the Oxfordshire area. There are certainly economies of scale when running several stores. Staffing and recruitment is made easier and marketing can be done for the whole area too. For example: we are using Oxford local radio for advertising and to entice new customers, as this covers all three Papa John’s in the area.”

Brar had previously enjoyed a career as an area manager for a rival pizza company, but knew he wanted a change that would allow him to be his own boss.

“Papa John’s was expanding rapidly and I wanted to take advantage of the business opportunity that sort of momentum creates. Over the past few years, the head office team have been really supportive, helping me grow my store numbers and the Papa John’s franchisee incentive scheme has been invaluable to help me open the latest outlet. Deals on equipment and reduced franchise fees mean I can focus on building sales and local marketing right at the outset.”

The Bicester store has Papa John’s brand-new store layout and design and Brar hopes he can continue to tempt the customers in for a slice of delicious pizza.

“It’s early days but so far, the customers really like the new store design! They are happy to sit and relax while waiting for their orders, or to take time browsing the menu. It has created a welcoming atmosphere and buzz in store. With the help of my team, I’m now looking forward to opening more Papa John’s locally over the next 12 months.”

Papa John’s has more than 400 locations across the UK, but it’s still on the lookout for ambitious franchisees to join its ever-expanding network.

Sophie Cole, Point Franchise ©