New Papa John’s franchisees seal multi-franchise development deal

Richard McElroy and Chris Makin to open stores across the north west of England

Richard McElroy and Chris Makin have signed a development deal to open nine Papa John’s stores in the north west of England.

The long-term friends turned business partners, brought together through “football, children and a love of good times” are already on track to open six new Papa John’s before Christmas, creating more than 150 jobs. Their first store will be situated in Middleton in Manchester.

Richard has a proven track record in the food and hospitality industry, spending the majority of his career with Whitbread, where he held a number of senior operational roles across Premier Inn and Costa. He was also national operations director for its 450-site restaurant division.

Richard’s last role was with Morrisons as a category director for its food services business.

Chris is an entrepreneur with many years’ experience growing and developing businesses, predominantly in manufacturing.

Richard says: “I’ve worked in hospitality all my life and Papa John’s stands out as a quality brand with a superb product. 

“My family and I first tried Papa John’s pizza while holidaying in Arizona a few years ago and we haven’t stopped talking about it since.

Now we’re hungry to open our own stores and it’s exciting making this happen around Manchester, in areas we know and live.

“We’re recruiting locally and our goal is to build an infrastructure of a size and scale that provides employment opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds in HR, operations, customer service, plus our all-important delivery drivers.

“We have huge confidence in the Papa John’s leadership team to support us as we grow. 

“The constant pipeline of new and innovative menu choices is a recipe for success. It means the brand is relevant and continues to increase in popularity. 

“We’ve been blown away by the quality of the vegan range, for example, and will be proud to be delivering the treat of Papa John’s great pizza made with only the freshest, finest ingredients to the communities we serve very soon.”

Richard and Chris plan to open 20 more Papa John’s outlets.

Justin Gilbert director of business development at Papa John’s UK, says: “Richard and Chris’ wealth of business experience and appetite for growth will help drive the successful development of their stores. 

“They are both equally invested in contributing to the expansion of the Papa John’s brand and we welcome their knowledge and passion to take advantage of the opportunities that running a multi-unit Papa John’s franchise can offer, while our dedicated team supports them through their journey.”