McDonagh buys Papa John’s pizza franchise
Mr McDonagh, who has steadily built up his Supermac’s chain into a nationwide business since starting it in Galway in the late 1970s, has already tested out the Papa John’s menu around Galway and is keen to expand it nationwide.
Although the company has not settled on how many outlets it will open, it is understood that the vast majority will be in the form of specialised areas located within existing Supermac’s restaurants.
According to a spokesperson for Supermac’s, the idea behind the move is to diversify the company’s food offering in a quality way.
“Although the company has had pizza on the menu before, Papa John’s was the product Pat had wanted for some time and the market testing seemed to work well. We feel this service will be ideal for the Irish market. The two names — Papa John’s and Supermac’s — will complement each other fully. The new business will marry nicely with the existing business,” he said.
The Papa John’s business was established in Indiana in 1985 and has since grown into a franchise with more than 3,000 outlets worldwide. Outside of the US, it is in 29 international locations but its Irish and British franchises are, to date, the company’s only outlets in Europe.
The company is listed on New York’s Nasdaq exchange.
