Louisville, Ky., and Dallas — Papa John’s International, Inc. has signed its largest domestic franchisee development agreement in the company’s history with top U.S. franchisee operator Sun Holdings, Inc. Under the terms of the deal, Sun Holdings will oversee the opening of 100 new stores in high-growth markets across Texas by 2029.
Founded by Guillermo Perales, Dallas-based Sun Holdings supports more than 1,000 locations across 12 states.
“Papa John’s development flywheel has started to take off,” says Amanda Clark, Papa John’s chief development officer. “With industry-leading paybacks and our key strategy of making it easy for franchisees to say yes to developing, we can attract great new partners to our brand. We’re excited to launch this milestone partnership with Guillermo and his team at Sun Holdings in Texas. Sun Holdings is a successful and well-financed operator who understands the Texas market and brings deep expertise within the QSR space that will benefit the entire Papa John’s system.”
In the first half of 2021, Papa John’s reported record net unit growth, as franchisees accelerate their opening plans for new locations within the current development pipeline. Recently, the company announced that Drake Food Service International, which operates more than 280 locations across Latin America, Spain and Portugal, will open over 220 new restaurants across Latin America, Spain, Portugal and the UK, in addition to acquiring over 60 locations in the UK.
Papa John’s International, Inc. first opened in 1984 and is headquartered in Louisville, Ky.; the company has more than 5,500 restaurants in 49 countries and territories as of June 28, 2021. For more information, visit www.PapaJohns.com
Sun Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1997 by Guillermo Perales, funded by an SBA loan. Today, his companies own and operate Taco Bueno and also operate Burger King, Popeyes, Arby’s, T-Mobile, McAlister’s, IHOP, GNC and several airport restaurant locations.
SOURCE: Papa John’s