SW Cherokee welcomes Papa John’s Regional Hub
“Better Ingredients. Better Pizza.” Better Cherokee. Papa John’s International, Inc. (Papa John’s) is locating its new regional hub, which will supply over 400 Papa John’s stores across seven states, to Cherokee County.
There are currently ten full-service regional production and distribution centers in the United States, which Papa John’s refers to as Quality Control Centers (QCCs). These centers manufacture and supply fresh pizza dough, food and paper products, along with smallwares and cleaning supplies, to the stores in their region. The QCCs are operated by PJ Food Service, Inc., a subsidiary of Papa John’s. “At Papa John’s we are always looking for ways to improve the quality, efficiency and scale of our operations to better serve our stores,” said Shane Hutchins, SVP PJ Food Service. “The new Quality Control Center will be an important ingredient in better servicing our strong business growth in the Southeast and providing more jobs in Cherokee County.”
This project, brought to Cherokee through the diligent work of members of Site Selection Group, LLC, the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), the Metro Atlanta Chamber, Georgia Power and the Cherokee Office of Economic Development (COED), will result in 106 jobs with an average wage of over $60,000/year and over $15 million in capital investment. Georgia Quick Start was also influential in the decision-making process for this project. The program has helped Georgia’s workforce become the best in the country. They develop and deliver fully customized, strategic workforce solutions for qualifying client companies free of charge. The Georgia Department of Labor also participated in this process by creating a customized recruitment plan.
The new QCC will occupy approximately 110,000 sq. ft. of Majestic Realty Company’s building located off of Highway 92 and Northpoint Parkway in Southwest Cherokee. This location falls within a state-designated Opportunity Zone (OZ). Companies located within the OZ can take advantage of the maximum state job tax credit of $3,500 per job created, beginning the year the eligible net new jobs are added under the program. “We are excited about Papa John’s decision to locate their new regional hub in Cherokee County,” said GDEcD Commissioner Chris Carr. “This project will create quality jobs for over 100 Georgia families, and our highly-connected infrastructure network will put Papa John’s in an optimal position to better service their growing number of stores in the Southeast. On behalf of GDEcD, I would like to thank all of the partners involved in this collaborative effort and great win for Georgia.”
“Having Papa John’s, a well-known brand, locate to Cherokee is another step in the right direction for our community,” said Steve Holcomb, COED Vice Chairman. “Their presence will provide new opportunities to our residents and county. We are proud to welcome them.” The new facility will supply over 400 Papa John’s stores in the southeast region. “Papa John’s decision to locate this new regional processing and distribution center in Cherokee County will provide greater access to key markets and strengthens metro Atlanta’s position as a global logistics hub,” said Metro Atlanta Chamber President and CEO Hala Moddelmog.
About Papa John’s
Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world’s third-largest pizza delivery company. For 14 of the past 16 years, consumers have rated Papa John’s No. 1 in customer satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Papa John’s is the Official Pizza Sponsor of the National Football League and Super Bowl 50.
For more information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa John’s at www.papajohns.com. Also visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PapaJohns, Twitter at http://twitter.com/PapaJohns, YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/papajohns, Instagram at instagram.com/papajohns, Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/papajohnspizza, and Vine at vine.co/papajohns. Looking to be a part of something Better? Learn more about franchising with Papa John’s at www.papajohns.com/franchise.