Papa Johns wants to get out of the restaurant operations business and more into the franchising business. The chain recently sold 85 locations in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. to big-time franchisee Chris Patel of Pie Investments. Patel’s company already owns 150 Papa Johns locations and aims to reach 250 by 2030.

The move is part of CEO Todd Penegor’s plans to reduce Papa Johns’ company-owned footprint from 545 locations to “mid-single-digit” levels over the next two years— a model favored by franchise giants like McDonald’s.

The refranchising strategy makes sense when you look at the numbers. Papa Johns’ company-owned locations have underperformed franchised restaurants for at least two years, with same-store sales down 2.5% at corporate units versus 1.3% at franchised locations th

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