its almost like they had to cut corners to save a dying business and appease shareholders after their former CEO used the N word on a conference call 😂
@@poindextertunesyou left out a lot of context behind that recording. For starters he wasn’t saying the word to say it, he was quoting what the founder of KFC used to say, to then say how Papa Johns is better because they don’t come from racist origins. 2nd everyone on the board/at the meeting knew he was going to read that quote. In fact he even clarified with the black members present in that meeting if it would be alright to read that quote or if he thought it would be in poor taste. All of them said they were fine with/none objected. And since everyone knew he was going to say this, it was very easy to record it then share it. Some on the board wanted him gone because they wanted to implement cost savings measure, aka the cheap stuff. Worse ingredients, get rid of the internal hiring program, etc. John used to be very proud that he would take people who just started making pizzas in a store like he did and transform them into franchisees. Obviously this isn’t cheap from a raw balance sheet perspective but it fosters a very strong work culture with managers and franchisers who truly care about the brand and in turn their own staff. The quality went down not because they had to save costs to cover “what he said”. It went down because those involved always wanted it to go down. They really thought their customers were too dumb to know if they changed ingredients and overall staff quality so they could save a few bucks. And sadly this line of thinking has infected a lot of corporations where they care more about saving a few dollars than ensuring their customers and employees are happy The business was in no way “dying” before that happened. And it did not “die” because of John. It died without John.
@@poindextertunes He said that to point out that it's ridiculous people were calling him racist for being against the whole "kneeling during anthem" thing, but they're fine with KFC even though Colonel Sanders would refer to black people with the hard R. It's proven through documents and stuff that it was a legitimate conspiracy by their advertising agency and corporate leadership at the time, to oust John
Papa John's used to be my go to Pizza for game nights with the roommates. They just aren't as good as they used to be. The bread specifically is lower quality and the sauce isn't as rich Even more amusing is that Dominoes actually did start making better pizza than they used to. They're not as good at PJ at their peak, but they're still pretty affordable and good for the price
@@Arcilios Dominos got cheap, almost too cheap and the quality dropped. I remember $4 pizzas from them at one time. I don't mind the trade-off too much if it's a $4 pizza. However, they improved their quality to beat Pizza Hut.
I just got domino's the other day and it was horrible but it might be the location, but a couple of years ago when I had domino's a lot more it tasted way better
Papa John's *USED* *TO* be the closest to authentic pizza you could get, without going to an actual pizzeria. Now they taste just as processed and corporate as the Pizza Huts and Dominos☹
Yeah, there's no denying that John's a terrible person as evidenced by the various stories of him showcased in the video, but I do feel like he was the only one keeping the Papa John's vision alive and not totally consumed by shareholder greed; the taste has cratered since he left. Now if I had to choose between him staying and the situation we find ourselves in, I think him not being apart of the business was the best choice; no one should have to put up with sexual harassment or any similar behavior. I am lucky though because there's actually a good, local pizza place by me.
Now it taste better than Pizza Hut and is up there with Dominos like i said in my comment Pizza Hut has gone to literal crap and now Papa John’s has took the spotlight of what Pizza Hut used to be especially now they have stuffed crust ever since 2020 and they have the papadia Pizza Hut literally copied them a year later with the Pizza Hut melts
I miss old Papa John's; John Schnatter's team once mailed my dad a care package, and I'll never forget that. It had hundreds of dollars of signed merch in it, and a huge gift card for endless pizza (my dad was terminal and loved Camaros and Papa Johns (this was the late 90s). I wrote them a letter on a whim (I was a teenager and there was a website back in the day called the 29 cent experiment or something where a guy wrote every company (for the price of a stamp) he could think of and asked for a freebie to see what would happen, PJs wasn't on the list but gave me the idea) and John himself wrote back a letter and they sent that box. I highly doubt any company these days would do something like that.
They say the recipe is the same, but my taste buds believe otherwise. The cheese tastes like plastic and the sauce tastes like ketchup with extra sugar.
0:56 I honestly never expected Hunt Brothers Pizza ever to be mentioned on Weird Food History. I always knew them as probably a small pizza 🍕 chain. I know of them from the general store where my mom's parents store used to be. The current owners would make Hunt Brothers pizza for anyone that called or walked in. It's pretty good pizza.
My last Papa Johns was an abomination. It was all pushed back into the box after having been flipped over. I called the store to ask if this was a normal thing. They said no and sent me out another pizza without telling me. They placed it on our deck, and if we didn't have a camera system, we'd have never known. No thanks. Ever since he left, no quality control
My last experience was awful too. The pizza was completely soaked in grease, all the way to the bottom. It was so soggy I couldn't even take a bite. Totally inedible...never again. I hope they go bankrupt.
This happened to me, the pizza was smashed and missing a slice. I called to complain and they sent me a new pizza but they also double charged me for it. I ate the pizzas but I was not happy.
Yeah, As a current employee, Its a bit of a shitshow. Depending on how late it was you probably didnt even speak to a manager and they forgot to tell you.
I have italian relatives and when one of them came over for a brief vacation we ordered in papa johns. someone asked him what he thought of it and he just said "is cardboard with ketchup" and idk why, maybe the way he said it or struggled to find the words, but I couldn't stop laughing and still call papa johns cardboard con ketchup to this day. I have a friend who works at papa johns and his car exploded.
I personally think that their pizza even before John's ousting was only mediocre at best. My goto pizza in my early 20's when I did eat pizza regularly as a ma and pa shop called Roman Coin Pizza.
@@dlengelkes comparing a locally owned shop to one of the big five is apples to oranges. Papa johns was the undisputed champ of incredibly cheap and fairly delicious pizza. Now when I go there, it’s either pretty good or damn near inedible
I grew up with Round Table! I loved that the pizzas were named after King Arthur characters. And you could get pizza with (tiny) shrimp, yum! There was also Shakey's. But this was back in the 60s & 70s. I don't think Shakey's is around anymore? Where I live now, Papa Murphy's is across the street, Domino's & Little Caesars a couple blocks away, a little further is a Papa John's. As is pretty much every other major fast food brand. This is not a big city even! Tbh I don't eat any of that, the grocery store is also across the street and it's cheaper to get food there.😊
@@peggywoods4327 Shakey's is still around. Well at least in Los Angeles Metro area. I have had Round Table before and I was not impressed. Little Caesars Detroit Style is not bad. I have had Papa Murphy's a few times but it is inconvenient. As far as Grocery store pizza such as Whole Foods, Costco, or even Sam's Club is even worse because you have no idea how long that pizza has been sitting out unless one witness someone pulling the pizza out of the oven.
Most large brands have one special person at their core, and for this company, it was John Schnatter. when he 'left' everything changed. The same thing happened with KFC and Walmart - Colonel Sanders, and Sam Walton. there are many examples
Colonel Sanders sued KFC around '69, '70, or somewhere thereabouts. He felt the company wasn't making the chicken correctly. I didn't have it until after that time, but I noticed that after he died, the quality went down then too. Though I don't believe in using lard, I have to admit their chicken didn't taste as good when they replaced the lard about 15 to 17 years ago with what I believe was a vegetable based oil in a move to reduce trans fats.
It’s usually the founder or a member of leadership that brought the company to its peak. They typically have a distinct vision or approach that is hard to replicate once they’re gone. Once a new leader moves in, the business strategies become derivative and the business plateaus
@@lilcotorro esp in the food business, letting the accountants run things can be a disaster. they make small changes for more profits, and the cumulative effect over several years is a food product that has lost its "magic" and identity. customers begin to leave, then the company tries to win them back. That's where Pizza Hut is right now
Schnatter “threatening” that he would have to raise the price of each pizza by 5 cents, because of Obamacare, is one of the funniest public gripes ever
@@ambercrombie789 these are bad business decisions. Why shouldn't they be criticized? Similarly, why should athletes be quiet and John Schnatter talk politics?
Our local cici's in Springfield Ohio got shut down. They were caught on video washing the dishes behind the store with a garden hose before the callaspe of the company during covid.
The quality of the pizza has changed. I ordered out and they put topping on there that I told them not to. So I called and spoke to an employee who told me they would replace it, no big deal. So when I called back for the replacement, they said that I had called them back and told them the pizza was fine. I don't know where they got that from, I didn't call them and tell them that. So I went up there and the manager said I cussed her employee out, when I spoke to her on the phone, so I'm like you said that I called back and said the pizza was fine. If I said it was fine, why would I cuss them out? I left and I haven't been back there in a few years.
For those asking about Hunt Brothers, according to Wikipedia: "Hunt Brothers Pizza is an American pizza restaurant chain. It was founded in 1991 in Nashville, Tennessee. The store's locations are primarily within convenience stores."
@FoxyPinkGirl it's in half the country but yea it's because it's cheap. it's about 200k-300k to start a "hunts bros pizza" compared to say pizza hut or little ceasar which can get up to 1.7 million.
was going to say because as an Australian I've at least heard of all the others. even if we mostly just have Dominos and Pizza Hut from the US the others are at least known here.
I remember loving Papa Johns in the mid to late 90s. Now, I try it once a year and its massively overpriced and not as good as frozen pizza from the supermarket.
In my opinion, there is no reason to go to PJ if there is a Domino's or Little Ceasar's close by. Domino's beats it on the taste/price ratio and LC's kills it on the value. It doesn't really taste any better than PH or Domino's. The garlic sauce is literally the only reason to get it.
It exists! I swear! I've had them and they taste about the same as Digiorno. You just have to go to some no-name back roads country bumpkin gas station to get it. No one decides to get their pizza. Circumstances force you to. Strange, almost weird..., that this video lists them as a top 5.
Out of the chain pizzas I have to say that I always thought Papa Johns was the best. Pizza Hut is a second and then Domino's as a third... but they're all still chain pizza places. None of them could compete with my local pizza joints.
if you like actual pizza then how is Papa John’s your number 1? Straight trash pizza. Sauce too sweet, pizzas are undercooked and yet somehow the dough still has a cardboard taste to it. Garlic sauce is “liquid butter alternative”. The best part of their pizza was the marketing gimmick.
I prefer to go with local, non-chain pizza places. We have a local one that still has an all-you-can-eat buffet. I find Pizza Hut to be greasy. I didn't like Dominos years ago but they changed their crust and after that it was better. Papa Johns is okay. Their "New York" style pizza is a joke. All of them are too expensive to eat very often these days. Haven't ever tried Little Caesar's.
I stopped ordering Papa Johns when they upped their delivery fee to $8. That's half the cost of a pizza and is more than the tip if ordering one pie. I wouldn't know about the quality as I refuse to order from them anymore.
In 2012 Schnatter stated President Obama health care law is going to make the price of pizza go up. He said the cost of providing health insurance to all of the chains uninsured full-time employees is about 14 cents on a large pizza. Queue photo of Schnatter's castlesque house... with a moat on 16 acres.
Here’s what they failed to mention. One of those pizza shops John worked at was at Greek’s Pizzeria on University Ave in Muncie, IN. That’s where he learned the sweet sauce and he even uses the same dough mixers.
The first time I had it i figured would be my last, it was bland but what taste it had wasn't close to good. On top of that it was barely cooked. Garbage. I've since had it a time or two and they had improved a lot, but when you're the worst, a big improvement isn't much, at least it was cooked right. We have far too many local places that serve good pizza to waste my money on crummy chains.
Since I was two, my mother said I love pizza. She was not wrong. I am now 70 and I still love pizza, frozen and restaurant style. The only pizza I would say no to is Papa John’s. It seems to have an after taste.
Thats a huge indication of a clearly terrible pizza chain. Being 70 you’ve tasted a lot of pizza and the fact PJs sticks out as your least favorite should definitely say something about their quality
One thing was definitely true about his business model: the local places made the best pies. Every small town has that place known for legendary pizza. Here we have Fricanos and Mr Scribs. Both do a very thin, crackery crust, but Fricanos is a fancier, sit-down place with a bar. Scribs is a takeout chain. But anyone visits town and asks "Where can I get a good pizza?", those will be the top answers for sure.
I am 42 from Indiana and I can't think of any hunts brothers anywhere I've even traveled all over the East Coast and I just have no clue that's so crazy to me
you've probably seen them before but just didn't actually pay attention. It's always at like gas stations and bowling alleys and stuff. Source - I'm a 40 year old Hoosier and have been here most of my life.
@@indyhondagod theyre practically in every single non-chain gas stations from the east coast all the way to the south west and everywhere in between. Im in Oklahoma and can really be found at every gas station except for QuikTrip, Kum N' Go, and Caseys.
@@spartaleonidas540 2:05 and 3:07 for just 2 examples. Look at the small text under the logo on the building in the first, and on the shirts on the second. Looks more like AI upscaling, but it's still not the best look.
@@NotMyWar ok, I can agree with that. It was also the very first place I had that delicious garlic butter sauce and a pepperoncini, so there's that lol
Been ignoring this channel for a while. Thought I'd have to deal with the tiktok lady narrator voice. Happy to have the good narrator here. Gonna enjoy a video now. 😊
As someone who grew up in the area where Papa John's was founded, around the time when it was founded, I can say with expert opinion that better ingredients do not necessarily equal better pizza. We used to joke about how it was no coincidence that the slogan was right next to the spot on the box where it says, "Made with recycled cardboard". The quality has gone down since he left...but it wasn't a very high bar to begin with. As for Papa John himself, I knew a guy in college who used to clean the basketball court at University of Louisville, and by chance he once encountered Schnatter having a conversation with Rick Pitino (U of L's former basketball coach who has his own share of scandals). They were both absolute jerks and threw him out of the stadium for daring to try and do his job while they were there. Pitino even called him an "effing moron".
It's amazing how he can be a moron in so many ways but so good in a few areas where he counts. In another comment I mentioned my own negative experiences with him. He's an asshole, unpleasant all around, doesn't seem bright or capable.. but despite these glaring flaws the company seemed to function better undearneath him. Are... are the new people in charge less capable than someone we all genuinely dislike and have no faith in? Christ alive, I have zero experience running a franchised corporation but I get more faith in myself every day knowing how incapable everyone else was.
@@brittislove I've always assumed that most of his success came from his connections; as I alluded to with the Pitino story, he knew a lot of people in the sports programs at U of L and likely used them to get in with the NFL. The investors probably cared less about him being a foul-mouthed racist and more about him cutting ties with those people, because they knew that not having that in would kill the company (that's probably why they immediately went to Shaq and tried to get SOME kind of sports sponsorship going again). Once his connections were gone, there was no reason to keep him around.
The aspect that annoyed me about Papa John's was the conflicting aspects of their TV advertising versus the pizzas they produced. The TV ads made grand claims on the quantities of "better toppings" for their pizzas, when in reality the local franchise would frugally put what amounted to "sprinklings" on the pizzas.
I first tried a slice in 1997 when traveling; didn't have again until one opened in my hometown . Circa 2005 it was the best I could get! A little too much sauce but delicious! The quality has dropped --i guess around 2015. I haven't had a PJ pizza since before before COVID .
I like papa John’s and I think their base cheese pizza is the best of the FOUR big chains, but Dominos has the best pan and thin crust pizza and better side dishes like garlic and cinnamon knots and their cheesy bread is the best in the market.
Godfather’s has always been gross. Only a Midwesterner would say this, because outside Chicago the entire region CANNOT do pizza well and they love, love, love their Godfather’s dreck.
@@cuseyeti_one8threeHideaway’s Pizza is awesome, started as a small restaurant in Stillwater, OK has expanded to a few locations here in OK, Texas and Arkansas
gross, to each his own though. Everyone likes different things. One things for sure. None of the pizza chains are good anymore. Ingredients are all corporate processed food products now. 90's Dominoes is nothing like todays Dominoes which is disgusting. They are all disgusting now.
Hoping for a video on Cici's Pizza. My local Cici's was actually really good, but sadly closed after a while. A new one opened, but I read the Yelp reviews, and.... probably for the best to leave Cici's as a nostalgic memory.
I was born in New Albany, right next to Jeffersonville, one of my first jobs was a Papa John in Louisville. sure, they have had issues and 90 percent of the NEW managers that represent Papa john are absolutely incompetent; but i still LOVE them and will continue to be a fan. long live the papa!!!
They have a good business model..they get paid for the name, regardless if anybody buys a pizza or not. I used to frequent them when I was younger, cooked made to order and cheap. Not bad at all
i miss papa johns, they closed the one near me years ago that was a 5 min drive. now the nearest one a couple years ago was an hour. 0 clue what the nearest one is now after california terrible $20 minimum law
I grew up in North Jersey, where the pizza wars between Jersey and NYC means great pizza to be had at family pizza shops. Moving to South Jersey near Philly meant boring, cardboard pizza leaving from these grubby pizza chains. I did find great pizza, right where I work in Philly, in a hole in the wall storefront made by a guy from Queens. I never ate Papa Johns because Schneider was scum. His statement of not giving health insurance to his employees because he would have to raise pizza prices by $0.25, even though he made an astronomical amount of money as CEO, has permanently removed Papa Johns from any thought of purchase even though the company got rid of the dead weight.
It's amazing that Papa John's pizzas actually stay together considering they're at least 25% oil. They're all way too expensive too. It's actually worthwhile just getting a pizza oven and experimenting to get it to work properly (you don't need a fancy one, the one we have just has a gas burner on one side, you do have to rotate the pizza but it also gives a perfect opportunity to get a good look at it), turns out I don't like authentic crusts and prefer a more commercial style dough and found that a slightly lower temperature and for longer worked better. We bought this pizza oven off my brother who had just made a few pizzas and hadn't tuned things (had used wet mozzerella and then had a soggy pizza, have to use the block/grated moz). If you do actually enjoy pizza it's way nicer and cheaper in the long run, we can make a serving for under £1/each, while with Papa John's it's like £5 for a quarter of a pizza. I'm still trying to get a BBQ chicken pizza to work, it's the best pizza Papa John's has but I haven't quite replicated it yet, it's a bit too wet
I used to order from Papa John's so much when I first moved here. Until I was 26, I lived in a tiny town that was outside the delivery range of any of the pizza chains. You could order a pizza, just someone had to drive 15 miles and back to go get it. So when I first moved to this medium-sized town of about 100k, being able to get online, click a few options, and have a pizza at my door 25 minutes later felt like a magic trick. Also I was high as all hell, another thing that became easier to procure in the city! 😊 This was '09, almost a decade before my state legalized it.
my local PJ's is amazing and the pizzas ALWAYS tastes delicious. i order a pie once every other month, the only bad thing that happens (on a rare occasion) is they don't completely slice the pies. and the only thing i dislike about the franchise as a whole is that don't make the Cheeseburger pizza a year-round item and not just a spring/summer special. i love that one so much
PJs used to be my go-to for a pizza. Then...they started cutting corners on quality...the last two pizzas I ever ordered from them...I ended putting out for the raccoons. Only thing I could salvage was the crust, the rolled up part.. Haven't been back since.
Can't believe I had to get this far down the comments before I saw Marco's mentioned. Grew up in OH and loved it. Once they started opening here in Tampa, never ordered Papa John's again. And their jalapeño ranch beats the shit out of PJ's garlic sauce
Usually the top three are Pizza Hut, Domino's and Little Caesars. Papa John's was fourth. Hunt Bros. shouldn't count as they aren't actual restaurants. Marcos is pretty decent.
Yes, Schnatter made Papa John's a success and was self made. He gets the credit for that but also the blame for his downfall. He made the decision to use a certain word, while being recorded. He made the decision to take his company public only to be pushed out by the board and shareholders. Just because you made something from nothing, doesn't make you infallible or invincible. You take accountability and responsibility for your decisions or actions, which he is doing.
I love this idea of "The Big 5" and one of them is Hunt Brothers, who I've never heard of from California. Then you mention it being gas station pizza and I'm sitting here going "but does that really count? Like are people going to Hunt Brothers Pizza, or are they going to a gas station and also get pizza?"
Papa Johns was my first job. He came to our store, and was a real douche. Also he ordered someone's firing right after he left for a very minor mistake.
I’ve yet to see a single comment here from somebody who has met him saying he was a nice guy. Given these anecdotes, his public image and all those negative reports about him over the years, it sounds like he’s indeed a pretty crappy guy
I used to work there as a 2nd job. Loved that place and loved the pizza. I could eat their pizza every day of the week. I live fairly close and can get a fast delivery. Domino's and Pizza Hut are equally close, but way slower and not as good.
The more i hear, the more i believe the board saw ways to cut costs, and he wouldn't budge on quality, so they released a recording with no context to get rid of him, and ensure he wouldn't come back and out-compete them. They were playing opposite sides of the short term profit vs long term viability game, and he lost. Remember, they can't cancel you if you don't play by their rules.
Oh boy, I remember calling up Pizza Hut on the phone when I was a kid in the 90s. I also recall the first time I ordered online, which I believe was 1998. I always order online or through an app given the option, but a lot of those local restaurants, you've still got to call up on the phone.
I guess I came to Papa John's late in the game, in 2019-ish, but yeah: it was terrible pizza. Never had another pizza from them since. The name is synonymous with low quality pizza in my mind now...
I would never consider Hunt Bros in the same category as all of the other chains mentioned, they are strictly gas station pizza in my experience (which many convenience stores now make on their own anyway). Papa Johns is still the best of these chains, though the bar is underground in that competition, with the only real negative that they're consistently more expensive, even with deals. Funny you mentioned they use too much sauce, as they're the only pizza chain that ever puts enough sauce and sometimes it's still not enough, while every other chain has super dry pizzas, haha. Honestly, I like supporting local, but I can't justify paying $15-20 for a single large pizza vs $7-8 from the chains, the places in my region of the US just do not make good enough pizza to justify that price. Would never dream of buying chain pizza in New Haven, CT or the NYC area, though.
About fifteen years ago, Papa John's opened in my hometown. This town has less than 10,000 people, but five local pizzerias, a Dominos and a Pizza Hut. Papa John's managed to fail in less than two years. Also, their pizza is terrible.
Papa John's is like if you took a small floppy wet NY pizza with too much sauce and added a huge dry doughy crust ring around it. It's a lot better if you throw it in the fridge for a day then re-bake it directly on the rack for a few minutes and make it a little more crispy. But Little Caesars and Dominoes aren't better, and Pizza Hut just seems like the baseline dictionary definition of chain pizza, so I guess Papa John's is pretty good? I remember Little Caesars would give you two pizzas but there would always be a few pieces that were mostly just a crust bubble that pushed all the toppings away. I think in the '90s people were just excited about the idea of pizza and they weren't picky. 😂 The stuffed crust thing was a genius move from Pizza Hut but I wouldn't really know because my mom got Little Caesars because it was cheap and my dad always got the Papa John's meat lovers pizza because he wanted a heart attack.
Papa John did nothing wrong. They did him dirty. There are no such thing as bad words, just bad intent. Intent is what matters. And offense it taken far more often than its given. Just because you are offended does not mean that was its intent.
Sure pal lmao Nobody is saying “Hey! you cant use that word”. you’re more than welcome to use it. Just like with anything in life, theres consequences of ones actions. You seem to be offended by the fact that John had to deal with the repercussions of what he willfully said. You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes 😂
I miss Godfather's Pizza. It was a decent pie and price was good. I always thought their slogan should be, "I'm gonna make you a pizza you can't refuse."
Papa John's used to be my favorite pizza place. Then the original guy got fired. It was gross last time I got it. Domino's is as good as Papa John's used to be.
I always preferred Papa John's over the other chains because of two things: 1) the green pepper in every box 2) the bucket of grease The bucket of grease is imitation garlic butter (garlic butter flavored soybean oil) and so I had to stop eating that stuff, as it is legalized poison. But the pizza itself, although mid, is better than gross Domino's Little Caesar's. It's been so long since I've had Pizza Hut pizza, i forgot how it tastes.
he’s such a terrible person. I’m really surprised he’s not a politician. Just completely abhorrent behavior from a grown adult. Reeks of entitlement and being born with a silver spoon in his mouth
I never liked Papa John's all that much; the sauce is sweeter than I care for and the crust gets super dry and tough when I reheat the leftovers. The garlic sauce was always good though.
Who the heck is Hunt Bros.?
Don't worry about it...the fact that you DON'T know who they are means that your parents did right by you!
If im in the mood for gas station pizza, Hunt Bros is my go to. If its in my area. @obsidian00
Maybe keep watching the video and find out?
Military post shoppette standard pizza
U don't fill up on gas huh
He's not wrong though... Papa Johns quality has dived after his departure.
its almost like they had to cut corners to save a dying business and appease shareholders after their former CEO used the N word on a conference call 😂
@@poindextertunes He was right
In my opinion it dived when they stopped putting the toppings under the cheese.
@@poindextertunesyou left out a lot of context behind that recording. For starters he wasn’t saying the word to say it, he was quoting what the founder of KFC used to say, to then say how Papa Johns is better because they don’t come from racist origins. 2nd everyone on the board/at the meeting knew he was going to read that quote. In fact he even clarified with the black members present in that meeting if it would be alright to read that quote or if he thought it would be in poor taste. All of them said they were fine with/none objected. And since everyone knew he was going to say this, it was very easy to record it then share it.
Some on the board wanted him gone because they wanted to implement cost savings measure, aka the cheap stuff. Worse ingredients, get rid of the internal hiring program, etc. John used to be very proud that he would take people who just started making pizzas in a store like he did and transform them into franchisees. Obviously this isn’t cheap from a raw balance sheet perspective but it fosters a very strong work culture with managers and franchisers who truly care about the brand and in turn their own staff.
The quality went down not because they had to save costs to cover “what he said”. It went down because those involved always wanted it to go down. They really thought their customers were too dumb to know if they changed ingredients and overall staff quality so they could save a few bucks. And sadly this line of thinking has infected a lot of corporations where they care more about saving a few dollars than ensuring their customers and employees are happy
The business was in no way “dying” before that happened. And it did not “die” because of John. It died without John.
@@poindextertunes He said that to point out that it's ridiculous people were calling him racist for being against the whole "kneeling during anthem" thing, but they're fine with KFC even though Colonel Sanders would refer to black people with the hard R.
It's proven through documents and stuff that it was a legitimate conspiracy by their advertising agency and corporate leadership at the time, to oust John
Papa John's used to be my go to Pizza for game nights with the roommates. They just aren't as good as they used to be. The bread specifically is lower quality and the sauce isn't as rich
Even more amusing is that Dominoes actually did start making better pizza than they used to. They're not as good at PJ at their peak, but they're still pretty affordable and good for the price
I never got this domino's slander. I've loved domino's since they dropped and they're easily the best now.
It was garbage before and after that monster left.
Lies and slander.. But the brooklyn style with sausage is like a trip to the sea side soo
@@Arcilios Dominos got cheap, almost too cheap and the quality dropped. I remember $4 pizzas from them at one time. I don't mind the trade-off too much if it's a $4 pizza. However, they improved their quality to beat Pizza Hut.
I just got domino's the other day and it was horrible but it might be the location, but a couple of years ago when I had domino's a lot more it tasted way better
Papa John's *USED* *TO* be the closest to authentic pizza you could get, without going to an actual pizzeria. Now they taste just as processed and corporate as the Pizza Huts and Dominos☹
Yeah, there's no denying that John's a terrible person as evidenced by the various stories of him showcased in the video, but I do feel like he was the only one keeping the Papa John's vision alive and not totally consumed by shareholder greed; the taste has cratered since he left. Now if I had to choose between him staying and the situation we find ourselves in, I think him not being apart of the business was the best choice; no one should have to put up with sexual harassment or any similar behavior. I am lucky though because there's actually a good, local pizza place by me.
it's all in the hips It's ..
In the US.
Now it taste better than Pizza Hut and is up there with Dominos like i said in my comment Pizza Hut has gone to literal crap and now Papa John’s has took the spotlight of what Pizza Hut used to be especially now they have stuffed crust ever since 2020 and they have the papadia Pizza Hut literally copied them a year later with the Pizza Hut melts
@@NathanielCanty-wp7fp You do know that you're defending fast food chains that look to cut any corner?
I miss old Papa John's; John Schnatter's team once mailed my dad a care package, and I'll never forget that. It had hundreds of dollars of signed merch in it, and a huge gift card for endless pizza (my dad was terminal and loved Camaros and Papa Johns (this was the late 90s). I wrote them a letter on a whim (I was a teenager and there was a website back in the day called the 29 cent experiment or something where a guy wrote every company (for the price of a stamp) he could think of and asked for a freebie to see what would happen, PJs wasn't on the list but gave me the idea) and John himself wrote back a letter and they sent that box. I highly doubt any company these days would do something like that.
Wow very kind
He did door to door sales of coupon books in my old neighborhood
The guy is still racist. Bet you aren’t black.
Only a caring person would do something like that.
They say the recipe is the same, but my taste buds believe otherwise. The cheese tastes like plastic and the sauce tastes like ketchup with extra sugar.
0:56 I honestly never expected Hunt Brothers Pizza ever to be mentioned on Weird Food History. I always knew them as probably a small pizza 🍕 chain. I know of them from the general store where my mom's parents store used to be. The current owners would make Hunt Brothers pizza for anyone that called or walked in. It's pretty good pizza.
I'll take Hunt Brothers over Domino's anytime...fight me!
there are 9,500 locations lmao
@@fl0pZ3 But, in this area it's pretty much unheard of besides a couple of places.
Good pie.
It's good fresh as a whole pie, but terrible by the slice under a warmer.
My last Papa Johns was an abomination. It was all pushed back into the box after having been flipped over. I called the store to ask if this was a normal thing. They said no and sent me out another pizza without telling me. They placed it on our deck, and if we didn't have a camera system, we'd have never known.
No thanks. Ever since he left, no quality control
My last experience was awful too. The pizza was completely soaked in grease, all the way to the bottom. It was so soggy I couldn't even take a bite. Totally inedible...never again. I hope they go bankrupt.
This happened to me, the pizza was smashed and missing a slice. I called to complain and they sent me a new pizza but they also double charged me for it. I ate the pizzas but I was not happy.
Yeah, As a current employee, Its a bit of a shitshow. Depending on how late it was you probably didnt even speak to a manager and they forgot to tell you.
Better Johns, Papa Ingredients. Pizza.
Johns Better, Pizza Papa. Ingredients.
Johns Ingredients. Pizza better, Papa
You guys are funny 😂😂😂
I remember when Hungry Howies first coined that slogan in Kuwait, summer of ‘74 if I remember right. Good times.
@@thestarseeker8196I had Hungry Howie’s one time and the next day the store was gone and I searched all over the city. 😢 First time I cried in years.
Never heard of the hunt bros.
That's a good thing, means you weren't dirt poor like we were! 🤣
My mom made us chef boyardee we were very poor and what a treat those were people today have no idea what it is to be humble @obsidian00
To be honest I haven’t had before this year and to be honest it’s not that bad at all
@@obsidian00dirt poor eating out? You clearly don't kno what dirt poor is. White bread, ketchup, slice of Gov't cheese was dirt poor.
Best gas station pizza, well pizza in general
I like the thought of him doing surprise visit to his locations. It’s called good quality control
Sure but you don’t have to be a dictator butthead about it
@@pensivepenguin3000 you kind of do
I treated my Italian friend to a Papa John's pizza. The next day I went to start my car, it exploded.
I have italian relatives and when one of them came over for a brief vacation we ordered in papa johns. someone asked him what he thought of it and he just said "is cardboard with ketchup" and idk why, maybe the way he said it or struggled to find the words, but I couldn't stop laughing and still call papa johns cardboard con ketchup to this day. I have a friend who works at papa johns and his car exploded.
Rest in peace 🙏
@@jays2551 Perchè?
Since he was ousted from the company, the quality has taken an absolute nosedive.
I personally think that their pizza even before John's ousting was only mediocre at best. My goto pizza in my early 20's when I did eat pizza regularly as a ma and pa shop called Roman Coin Pizza.
@@dlengelkes comparing a locally owned shop to one of the big five is apples to oranges. Papa johns was the undisputed champ of incredibly cheap and fairly delicious pizza. Now when I go there, it’s either pretty good or damn near inedible
@austinbevis4266 ok that's fair, I thought regionally owned Godfathers pizza was than Pappa John's, but I will say their garlic sauce was decent.
Absolutely false. The quality was never good.
@@BryanSeitz in the early 2000s it was trash, then around 2010, it became amazing all of a sudden
Im over here in Asia eating papajohns at 90's peak because they are franchises and still make pizza as taught
Where in Asia? That's a very large continent and it includes India. 😅😊
with a little dash of American racism? 😂
@@poindextertunesthat’s the secret ingredient 😂
Toppings: cat, bat, and dog
It was never a good pizza. Ever.
I got a domino's ad twice while watching this, lol
SPOOKY vsoo... Google ad /youtube ad Cookies?
dang ALTHOUGH pizza Goodd
Thats why they are successful there advertising is next level. I must deliver there leaflets every other week.
Never even heard of Hunt Bros, I was expecting Round Table to be one of the 5.
I've never heard of Round Table lol
@@dallaselgin2636I guess you hate beer . It is one of the pizza shops that serves beer with their pizzas.
@@dallaselgin2636 same here. a few hunt brothers in the area but never heard of round table
I grew up with Round Table! I loved that the pizzas were named after King Arthur characters. And you could get pizza with (tiny) shrimp, yum! There was also Shakey's. But this was back in the 60s & 70s. I don't think Shakey's is around anymore? Where I live now, Papa Murphy's is across the street, Domino's & Little Caesars a couple blocks away, a little further is a Papa John's. As is pretty much every other major fast food brand. This is not a big city even! Tbh I don't eat any of that, the grocery store is also across the street and it's cheaper to get food there.😊
@@peggywoods4327 Shakey's is still around. Well at least in Los Angeles Metro area. I have had Round Table before and I was not impressed. Little Caesars Detroit Style is not bad. I have had Papa Murphy's a few times but it is inconvenient. As far as Grocery store pizza such as Whole Foods, Costco, or even Sam's Club is even worse because you have no idea how long that pizza has been sitting out unless one witness someone pulling the pizza out of the oven.
Most large brands have one special person at their core, and for this company, it was John Schnatter. when he 'left' everything changed. The same thing happened with KFC and Walmart - Colonel Sanders, and Sam Walton. there are many examples
Colonel Sanders sued KFC around '69, '70, or somewhere thereabouts. He felt the company wasn't making the chicken correctly. I didn't have it until after that time, but I noticed that after he died, the quality went down then too. Though I don't believe in using lard, I have to admit their chicken didn't taste as good when they replaced the lard about 15 to 17 years ago with what I believe was a vegetable based oil in a move to reduce trans fats.
It’s usually the founder or a member of leadership that brought the company to its peak. They typically have a distinct vision or approach that is hard to replicate once they’re gone. Once a new leader moves in, the business strategies become derivative and the business plateaus
@@lilcotorro esp in the food business, letting the accountants run things can be a disaster. they make small changes for more profits, and the cumulative effect over several years is a food product that has lost its "magic" and identity. customers begin to leave, then the company tries to win them back. That's where Pizza Hut is right now
Yeah but when that special person is also a racist, sexist, toxic boss, one must ask - were they really that special?
He's not.
The pizza use to be good back in the day...its totally different and sucks now.
Because papa ain’t involved anymore
It ALWAYS sucked and he gets exactly what he deserved.
Much like a majority of our current commodities
@@infinidominiontrue, everything is trash
Cheaper ingredients, customer unhappy, but current profits!
This model works today, but not next week.
Most in the Papa John's UK have been closed down a year or so after opening.
Our local one went under last year and the nearest Papa Johns now wants a ridiculous amount to deliver as they are not that near.
Makes sense. Too much flavor for UK people.
Schnatter “threatening” that he would have to raise the price of each pizza by 5 cents, because of Obamacare, is one of the funniest public gripes ever
Well, Papa John raised the price of pizza way more than that now.
@@BBradshawProductions lol I wonder how much went to workers 🤫
Well, Pizza Mogul, tell us all about running a successful nation-wide restaurant is going for you?
@@ambercrombie789 these are bad business decisions. Why shouldn't they be criticized? Similarly, why should athletes be quiet and John Schnatter talk politics?
@@ambercrombie789
Faxx
Please do The History of Cici's Pizza
Yesss!!! Do Cici’s!!!
Our local cici's in Springfield Ohio got shut down. They were caught on video washing the dishes behind the store with a garden hose before the callaspe of the company during covid.
I thought they already did...I'm proud my city ran Cici's out of town
@NASCARFAN93100 Cici is the only time I've had pizza, was physically full but still craved pizza spiritually.
I finally got to go to one in South Carolina after seeing commercials for it for my whole life and It was amazing
The quality of the pizza has changed. I ordered out and they put topping on there that I told them not to. So I called and spoke to an employee who told me they would replace it, no big deal. So when I called back for the replacement, they said that I had called them back and told them the pizza was fine. I don't know where they got that from, I didn't call them and tell them that. So I went up there and the manager said I cussed her employee out, when I spoke to her on the phone, so I'm like you said that I called back and said the pizza was fine. If I said it was fine, why would I cuss them out? I left and I haven't been back there in a few years.
These stories of successful and very public business founders being removed from leadership of their own companies is really sad
For those asking about Hunt Brothers, according to Wikipedia: "Hunt Brothers Pizza is an American pizza restaurant chain. It was founded in 1991 in Nashville, Tennessee. The store's locations are primarily within convenience stores."
I see them a lot in small towns. Probably the only pizza place for miles.
@@thepagnaet6361 yep! Good to get on vacations/trips at 11pm lol.
@FoxyPinkGirl it's in half the country but yea it's because it's cheap. it's about 200k-300k to start a "hunts bros pizza" compared to say pizza hut or little ceasar which can get up to 1.7 million.
was going to say because as an Australian I've at least heard of all the others. even if we mostly just have Dominos and Pizza Hut from the US the others are at least known here.
I remember loving Papa Johns in the mid to late 90s. Now, I try it once a year and its massively overpriced and not as good as frozen pizza from the supermarket.
I ain’t ever heard of Hunt Brothers pizza in my life until this video, bro
In my opinion, there is no reason to go to PJ if there is a Domino's or Little Ceasar's close by. Domino's beats it on the taste/price ratio and LC's kills it on the value. It doesn't really taste any better than PH or Domino's. The garlic sauce is literally the only reason to get it.
Domino’s has good crust too, love the seasonings.
All of which are disgusting
“That’s why there mascot is a deranged Roman emperor” took me out 😂
Step 1 make ok pizza. Step 2 include pepperoncini and amazing garlic sauce. Step 3 profit.
"...you had to talk you a human being. Ich"
Lol. I love you guys.
Thanks for so interesting and valuable video as always ❤❤❤
Im being gaslit into thinking hunt bros exists
😂😂😂😂😂😂
It exists! I swear! I've had them and they taste about the same as Digiorno.
You just have to go to some no-name back roads country bumpkin gas station to get it. No one decides to get their pizza. Circumstances force you to.
Strange, almost weird..., that this video lists them as a top 5.
It does, but it's gas station pizza in Appalachia.
Lmaooooo
Out of the chain pizzas I have to say that I always thought Papa Johns was the best. Pizza Hut is a second and then Domino's as a third... but they're all still chain pizza places. None of them could compete with my local pizza joints.
if you like actual pizza then how is
Papa John’s your number 1?
Straight trash pizza. Sauce too sweet, pizzas are undercooked and yet somehow the dough still has a cardboard taste to it. Garlic sauce is “liquid butter alternative”. The best part of their pizza was the marketing gimmick.
@@poindextertunes because I know if someone tries to be like you then I can disregard everything they say since they lack taste buds 🤣
@@poindextertunes I hate pizza but love papa johns.
I prefer to go with local, non-chain pizza places. We have a local one that still has an all-you-can-eat buffet. I find Pizza Hut to be greasy. I didn't like Dominos years ago but they changed their crust and after that it was better. Papa Johns is okay. Their "New York" style pizza is a joke. All of them are too expensive to eat very often these days. Haven't ever tried Little Caesar's.
I remember about 7 years ago I would order a large 3 cheese pepperoni for $8 from PJs
I stopped ordering Papa Johns when they upped their delivery fee to $8. That's half the cost of a pizza and is more than the tip if ordering one pie. I wouldn't know about the quality as I refuse to order from them anymore.
I stopped after the racism
In 2012 Schnatter stated President Obama health care law is going to make the price of pizza go up. He said the cost of providing health insurance to all of the chains uninsured full-time employees is about 14 cents on a large pizza. Queue photo of Schnatter's castlesque house... with a moat on 16 acres.
Here’s what they failed to mention. One of those pizza shops John worked at was at Greek’s Pizzeria on University Ave in Muncie, IN. That’s where he learned the sweet sauce and he even uses the same dough mixers.
I have had Papa John's pizza twice in my life and it was among the worst pizza I had ever had.
you never tried Little Cesar's in up or'ver by the trailers park
Grotto's or I call it, Rotto's.
The first time I had it i figured would be my last, it was bland but what taste it had wasn't close to good. On top of that it was barely cooked. Garbage. I've since had it a time or two and they had improved a lot, but when you're the worst, a big improvement isn't much, at least it was cooked right. We have far too many local places that serve good pizza to waste my money on crummy chains.
@AMPProf I think they're all trash. They are not pizza, just reasonable facsimiles.
Since I was two, my mother said I love pizza. She was not wrong. I am now 70 and I still love pizza, frozen and restaurant style. The only pizza I would say no to is Papa John’s. It seems to have an after taste.
Thats a huge indication of a clearly terrible pizza chain. Being 70 you’ve tasted a lot of pizza and the fact PJs sticks out as your least favorite should definitely say something about their quality
Feed someone that small pizza is not good
As someone who worked at both Pizza Hut and Dominos, I can confirm that Papa Johns is significantly better pizza 🍕😄
I still choose Pizza Hut. There's one right behind my house for when I get a craving for pizza.
That's a really cool story. Can we hear it again?
Yeah, the local joint has a 9.99 in person lunch deal which bangs!
the best pizza is the pizza you are pizzaing. Pizza.
Never had it, the shop by my house closed in 2008 and I've never sought it out.. I prefer the local Mom and Pop pizza Joints! 😮
Papa Johns is nasty. They are not popular in South Florida.
But they give you the dipping sauce to mask the taste of the pizza.
@@Brad-ic4bp😂
South Florida... what a joke
One thing was definitely true about his business model: the local places made the best pies.
Every small town has that place known for legendary pizza.
Here we have Fricanos and Mr Scribs. Both do a very thin, crackery crust, but Fricanos is a fancier, sit-down place with a bar. Scribs is a takeout chain.
But anyone visits town and asks "Where can I get a good pizza?", those will be the top answers for sure.
I am 42 from Indiana and I can't think of any hunts brothers anywhere I've even traveled all over the East Coast and I just have no clue that's so crazy to me
you've probably seen them before but just didn't actually pay attention. It's always at like gas stations and bowling alleys and stuff. Source - I'm a 40 year old Hoosier and have been here most of my life.
They're around. I got a friend who lives in the middle of nowhere IL. They got a few of them in the gas stations around there.
@@indyhondagod theyre practically in every single non-chain gas stations from the east coast all the way to the south west and everywhere in between. Im in Oklahoma and can really be found at every gas station except for QuikTrip, Kum N' Go, and Caseys.
@lt200420 I live closer to the city so I don't see a ton by me. I'm sure they're around but I also don't really look either.
I've been to 36 states and I've never heard of them either🤷
Really not enjoying the AI images.
Time stamp?
@@spartaleonidas540 2:05 and 3:07 for just 2 examples. Look at the small text under the logo on the building in the first, and on the shirts on the second. Looks more like AI upscaling, but it's still not the best look.
I never enjoyed paying $20 for a stock image.
Another pizza chain suggestion: Godfather's Pizza. In 1984 I worked at a location in St. Louis, Missouri in Sunset Hills.
Godfathers was my family's chain of choice when I was growing up.
I LOVED that place as a kid! There was a store in my town in Iowa and it was always my favorite. Loved the soft, thick crust!
@@geoffreyreuther5260 My older friend talks about this place sometimes.
Now that's been reduced to gas station pizza like Hunt Brothers.
Haven't thought about them in years. Used to be a great place until the business seemed to detonate practically over night.
The only Papa I ever loved was Papa Gino's in Massachusetts as a kid ❤
Hey man Papa John’s ain’t the best pizza in the world but they got some good deals.
@@NotMyWar ok, I can agree with that. It was also the very first place I had that delicious garlic butter sauce and a pepperoncini, so there's that lol
@@Blitzkrieg1976 their breadsticks though? They deserve some criticism lol
I’d rather eat Little Ceasers or Dominos than Papa John’s pizza
Been ignoring this channel for a while. Thought I'd have to deal with the tiktok lady narrator voice. Happy to have the good narrator here. Gonna enjoy a video now. 😊
As someone who grew up in the area where Papa John's was founded, around the time when it was founded, I can say with expert opinion that better ingredients do not necessarily equal better pizza. We used to joke about how it was no coincidence that the slogan was right next to the spot on the box where it says, "Made with recycled cardboard". The quality has gone down since he left...but it wasn't a very high bar to begin with.
As for Papa John himself, I knew a guy in college who used to clean the basketball court at University of Louisville, and by chance he once encountered Schnatter having a conversation with Rick Pitino (U of L's former basketball coach who has his own share of scandals). They were both absolute jerks and threw him out of the stadium for daring to try and do his job while they were there. Pitino even called him an "effing moron".
It's amazing how he can be a moron in so many ways but so good in a few areas where he counts. In another comment I mentioned my own negative experiences with him. He's an asshole, unpleasant all around, doesn't seem bright or capable.. but despite these glaring flaws the company seemed to function better undearneath him.
Are... are the new people in charge less capable than someone we all genuinely dislike and have no faith in? Christ alive, I have zero experience running a franchised corporation but I get more faith in myself every day knowing how incapable everyone else was.
@@brittislove I've always assumed that most of his success came from his connections; as I alluded to with the Pitino story, he knew a lot of people in the sports programs at U of L and likely used them to get in with the NFL. The investors probably cared less about him being a foul-mouthed racist and more about him cutting ties with those people, because they knew that not having that in would kill the company (that's probably why they immediately went to Shaq and tried to get SOME kind of sports sponsorship going again). Once his connections were gone, there was no reason to keep him around.
The aspect that annoyed me about Papa John's was the conflicting aspects of their TV advertising versus the pizzas they produced. The TV ads made grand claims on the quantities of "better toppings" for their pizzas, when in reality the local franchise would frugally put what amounted to "sprinklings" on the pizzas.
I first tried a slice in 1997 when traveling; didn't have again until one opened in my hometown . Circa 2005 it was the best I could get! A little too much sauce but delicious!
The quality has dropped --i guess around 2015. I haven't had a PJ pizza since before before COVID .
P.J. PIZZA got worse during COVID.
I like papa John’s and I think their base cheese pizza is the best of the FOUR big chains, but Dominos has the best pan and thin crust pizza and better side dishes like garlic and cinnamon knots and their cheesy bread is the best in the market.
Best narrator ever!!!
Godfather’s Pizza is better than all of them.
Godfather’s has always been gross. Only a Midwesterner would say this, because outside Chicago the entire region CANNOT do pizza well and they love, love, love their Godfather’s dreck.
@@cuseyeti_one8threeHideaway’s Pizza is awesome, started as a small restaurant in Stillwater, OK has expanded to a few locations here in OK, Texas and Arkansas
gross, to each his own though. Everyone likes different things. One things for sure. None of the pizza chains are good anymore. Ingredients are all corporate processed food products now. 90's Dominoes is nothing like todays Dominoes which is disgusting. They are all disgusting now.
Hoping for a video on Cici's Pizza. My local Cici's was actually really good, but sadly closed after a while. A new one opened, but I read the Yelp reviews, and.... probably for the best to leave Cici's as a nostalgic memory.
Honestly, I'm just in awe how the guy managed to get to where he was starting from a garage
apple google and amazon all started in garages
Step 1:
You make the pizza.
Step 2:
*you cooka da pizza*
Step 3:
You either sell or eat the pizza.
Almost every Hunts Brothers Ive seen have been closed down
You shoulda heard the Uncle Snoop in my voice when he mentioned Hunt Bros. and I was like "WHO???"😂
I was born in New Albany, right next to Jeffersonville, one of my first jobs was a Papa John in Louisville. sure, they have had issues and 90 percent of the NEW managers that represent Papa john are absolutely incompetent; but i still LOVE them and will continue to be a fan. long live the papa!!!
How is Hunt Bros so popular if so many of us didn’t know it existed until now
It's gas station pizza in Appalachia where Dollar General is more common than grocery stores.
They have a good business model..they get paid for the name, regardless if anybody buys a pizza or not. I used to frequent them when I was younger, cooked made to order and cheap. Not bad at all
I vividly remember my first time ordering a pizza online from Papa Johns in like 2008 and it completely blew my mind
Pizza Hut is 🗑.
Their pan pizza is 80% oil.
@@Mikewee777 Bruh that's why my skin soft!uhhhh Pizza pizza? Oh Wait School pan pizza reading programs
Miss pizza hut of the 70's and 80's. Even 90's, used to be able to dine in, nice booth and pitcher or root beer
I’ve never in my life heard of Hunt Brothers 🤷🏻♂️
i miss papa johns, they closed the one near me years ago that was a 5 min drive. now the nearest one a couple years ago was an hour. 0 clue what the nearest one is now after california terrible $20 minimum law
Love this guy’s narration! 🔥🔥🔥
Papa John's 6-cheese Cheesesticks are THE BEST cheese sticks of any chain, flat out. Fight me.
Hunt Brothers is still my favorite
I grew up in North Jersey, where the pizza wars between Jersey and NYC means great pizza to be had at family pizza shops. Moving to South Jersey near Philly meant boring, cardboard pizza leaving from these grubby pizza chains. I did find great pizza, right where I work in Philly, in a hole in the wall storefront made by a guy from Queens. I never ate Papa Johns because Schneider was scum. His statement of not giving health insurance to his employees because he would have to raise pizza prices by $0.25, even though he made an astronomical amount of money as CEO, has permanently removed Papa Johns from any thought of purchase even though the company got rid of the dead weight.
"The day of reckoning will come." - Papa John
"The day of reckoning has come." --Me, on the toilet, after eating PJ pizza.
It's amazing that Papa John's pizzas actually stay together considering they're at least 25% oil. They're all way too expensive too. It's actually worthwhile just getting a pizza oven and experimenting to get it to work properly (you don't need a fancy one, the one we have just has a gas burner on one side, you do have to rotate the pizza but it also gives a perfect opportunity to get a good look at it), turns out I don't like authentic crusts and prefer a more commercial style dough and found that a slightly lower temperature and for longer worked better. We bought this pizza oven off my brother who had just made a few pizzas and hadn't tuned things (had used wet mozzerella and then had a soggy pizza, have to use the block/grated moz).
If you do actually enjoy pizza it's way nicer and cheaper in the long run, we can make a serving for under £1/each, while with Papa John's it's like £5 for a quarter of a pizza. I'm still trying to get a BBQ chicken pizza to work, it's the best pizza Papa John's has but I haven't quite replicated it yet, it's a bit too wet
#1 problem is the sugar content of the sauce.
It’s essentially tomato-flavored diabetes.
When I make homemade pizzas, I never put sugar in my tomato sauce.
As a Hoosier. I am embarrassed that John Schnatter is from Indiana.
I really wish pizza makers wore gloves. 🧤 no way they are keeping their hands clean. 🧼
I love how naive you are, do u think wearing gloves makes it cleaner, think again.
any germs will get nuked in the pizza oven
I used to order from Papa John's so much when I first moved here.
Until I was 26, I lived in a tiny town that was outside the delivery range of any of the pizza chains. You could order a pizza, just someone had to drive 15 miles and back to go get it.
So when I first moved to this medium-sized town of about 100k, being able to get online, click a few options, and have a pizza at my door 25 minutes later felt like a magic trick.
Also I was high as all hell, another thing that became easier to procure in the city! 😊 This was '09, almost a decade before my state legalized it.
It’s sad. Papa John’s used to have really good pizza a long time ago.
my local PJ's is amazing and the pizzas ALWAYS tastes delicious. i order a pie once every other month, the only bad thing that happens (on a rare occasion) is they don't completely slice the pies. and the only thing i dislike about the franchise as a whole is that don't make the Cheeseburger pizza a year-round item and not just a spring/summer special. i love that one so much
I have very fond memories of Pizza Hut from my youth, but strangely I have absolutely no desire to eat there ever again.
PJs used to be my go-to for a pizza. Then...they started cutting corners on quality...the last two pizzas I ever ordered from them...I ended putting out for the raccoons. Only thing I could salvage was the crust, the rolled up part..
Haven't been back since.
I believe Marco’s Pizza is #5 by sales
Marcos brand is not bad but the crust could be better.
Can't believe I had to get this far down the comments before I saw Marco's mentioned. Grew up in OH and loved it. Once they started opening here in Tampa, never ordered Papa John's again. And their jalapeño ranch beats the shit out of PJ's garlic sauce
They are good, but a little more expensive
Usually the top three are Pizza Hut, Domino's and Little Caesars. Papa John's was fourth. Hunt Bros. shouldn't count as they aren't actual restaurants. Marcos is pretty decent.
Used to love the Pepperoni tucked underneath the cheese. For nostalgia, I will go try some here in Cambodia. 😂
Just another example of someone building something from nothing and then getting pushed out.
Yes, Schnatter made Papa John's a success and was self made. He gets the credit for that but also the blame for his downfall. He made the decision to use a certain word, while being recorded. He made the decision to take his company public only to be pushed out by the board and shareholders. Just because you made something from nothing, doesn't make you infallible or invincible. You take accountability and responsibility for your decisions or actions, which he is doing.
They should've never pushed him out honestly. I know he wasn't all that great, but the pizzas were better when he was the CEO.
I love this idea of "The Big 5" and one of them is Hunt Brothers, who I've never heard of from California. Then you mention it being gas station pizza and I'm sitting here going "but does that really count? Like are people going to Hunt Brothers Pizza, or are they going to a gas station and also get pizza?"
WHO GETS PIZZA AT A GAS STATION??
Papa Johns was my first job. He came to our store, and was a real douche. Also he ordered someone's firing right after he left for a very minor mistake.
I’ve yet to see a single comment here from somebody who has met him saying he was a nice guy. Given these anecdotes, his public image and all those negative reports about him over the years, it sounds like he’s indeed a pretty crappy guy
I used to work there as a 2nd job. Loved that place and loved the pizza. I could eat their pizza every day of the week. I live fairly close and can get a fast delivery. Domino's and Pizza Hut are equally close, but way slower and not as good.
The more i hear, the more i believe the board saw ways to cut costs, and he wouldn't budge on quality, so they released a recording with no context to get rid of him, and ensure he wouldn't come back and out-compete them.
They were playing opposite sides of the short term profit vs long term viability game, and he lost.
Remember, they can't cancel you if you don't play by their rules.
Oh boy, I remember calling up Pizza Hut on the phone when I was a kid in the 90s. I also recall the first time I ordered online, which I believe was 1998. I always order online or through an app given the option, but a lot of those local restaurants, you've still got to call up on the phone.
I guess I came to Papa John's late in the game, in 2019-ish, but yeah: it was terrible pizza. Never had another pizza from them since. The name is synonymous with low quality pizza in my mind now...
I know, it’s mediocre at best
Still better than Domino's. Not that that's a high bar by any stretch.
@@geoffreyreuther5260 I like Domino's better
I would never consider Hunt Bros in the same category as all of the other chains mentioned, they are strictly gas station pizza in my experience (which many convenience stores now make on their own anyway). Papa Johns is still the best of these chains, though the bar is underground in that competition, with the only real negative that they're consistently more expensive, even with deals. Funny you mentioned they use too much sauce, as they're the only pizza chain that ever puts enough sauce and sometimes it's still not enough, while every other chain has super dry pizzas, haha.
Honestly, I like supporting local, but I can't justify paying $15-20 for a single large pizza vs $7-8 from the chains, the places in my region of the US just do not make good enough pizza to justify that price. Would never dream of buying chain pizza in New Haven, CT or the NYC area, though.
About fifteen years ago, Papa John's opened in my hometown. This town has less than 10,000 people, but five local pizzerias, a Dominos and a Pizza Hut. Papa John's managed to fail in less than two years. Also, their pizza is terrible.
Papa John's is like if you took a small floppy wet NY pizza with too much sauce and added a huge dry doughy crust ring around it. It's a lot better if you throw it in the fridge for a day then re-bake it directly on the rack for a few minutes and make it a little more crispy. But Little Caesars and Dominoes aren't better, and Pizza Hut just seems like the baseline dictionary definition of chain pizza, so I guess Papa John's is pretty good? I remember Little Caesars would give you two pizzas but there would always be a few pieces that were mostly just a crust bubble that pushed all the toppings away. I think in the '90s people were just excited about the idea of pizza and they weren't picky. 😂 The stuffed crust thing was a genius move from Pizza Hut but I wouldn't really know because my mom got Little Caesars because it was cheap and my dad always got the Papa John's meat lovers pizza because he wanted a heart attack.
papa johns was a chad and made good pizza. the downfall was the sensitive era and inflation and bad leadership with bad quality when he stepped down
when they ran papa john out on a rail, thats when it started going downhill faster than an olympic skier.
Papa John did nothing wrong. They did him dirty.
There are no such thing as bad words, just bad intent. Intent is what matters. And offense it taken far more often than its given. Just because you are offended does not mean that was its intent.
Cutting ties with the NFL was a bonehead move and a big enough reason alone to give him the boot.
Sure pal lmao
Nobody is saying “Hey! you cant use that word”. you’re more than welcome to use it. Just like with anything in life, theres consequences of ones actions. You seem to be offended by the fact that John had to deal with the repercussions of what he willfully said. You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes 😂
I miss Godfather's Pizza. It was a decent pie and price was good. I always thought their slogan should be, "I'm gonna make you a pizza you can't refuse."
Papa John's used to be my favorite pizza place. Then the original guy got fired. It was gross last time I got it. Domino's is as good as Papa John's used to be.
I always preferred Papa John's over the other chains because of two things:
1) the green pepper in every box
2) the bucket of grease
The bucket of grease is imitation garlic butter (garlic butter flavored soybean oil) and so I had to stop eating that stuff, as it is legalized poison.
But the pizza itself, although mid, is better than gross Domino's Little Caesar's. It's been so long since I've had Pizza Hut pizza, i forgot how it tastes.
I'll never buy anything from this company. Not after the deranged made up nonsense they pulled on the owner.
Made up nonsense? It’s funny how some people claim things are “made up” when it doesn’t fit their narrative.
@@QueenOfTheNorth65 yeah and i bet you think DT won the debate 😂
he’s such a terrible person. I’m really surprised he’s not a politician. Just completely abhorrent behavior from a grown adult. Reeks of entitlement and being born with a silver spoon in his mouth
@@poindextertunesHe did. Are you retarded?
I never liked Papa John's all that much; the sauce is sweeter than I care for and the crust gets super dry and tough when I reheat the leftovers. The garlic sauce was always good though.