Papa John’s International, in partnership with its franchise partner PJ Western Group, announced its expansion into Germany, with plans to open 250 restaurants in the German market over the next seven years. PJ Western Group, one of Papa John’s largest global franchisees in Central and Eastern Europe, has opened the first seven Papa John’s in Magdeburg and Leipzig and plans to open another six stores in Halle and Merseburg by the end of the summer.

“We are excited to expand our business farther west into the heart of Europe,” said Christopher Wynne, CEO and founder of the PJ Western Group, which currently operates 200 Papa John’s restaurants, in addition to ten dough production plants in Europe and Asia. To accelerate this expansion into Germany, PJ Western is looking for new franchisees to join the Papa John’s family.

The expansion into Germany follows a record year of sales and growth, which helped propel the chain’s international development, said Jack Swaysland, Chief Operating Officer, International at Papa John’s. In May 2019, PJ Germany, together with PJ Western, acquired 13 existing locations of another pizza restaurant with plans to convert each site into a Papa John’s restaurant. The project was initially postponed due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.