Papa John's Founder Motors into New York City as Part of National Road Trip

Papa John's Founder Motors into New York City as Part of National Road Trip$25,000 "Finder's Fee" Still up for Grabs to Anyone Who Can Locate "Papa" John's Original '72 Z28 Camaro Sold to Open First Restaurant

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 16, 2009-- Having already visited Atlanta, Houston, and Dallas on his national road trip, “Papa” John Schnatter is back behind the wheel, still on a search for the 1972 Z28 Camaro he sold to open his first restaurant. Next stop: New York City!

Since embarking on his road trip last month from Louisville and visiting Atlanta, Houston, and Dallas, Schnatter has received countless tips at www.papasroadtrip.com on how to find the Camaro he sold in 1984 to purchase the used restaurant equipment required to open his first restaurant, in a renovated broom closet of his father’s tavern.

“I’m not surprised by America’s enthusiasm to bring my car home. Once people hear the story of why I sold the car, it resonates with them,” says Schnatter. “They understand that sometimes, pursuing your dream requires a heart-wrenching sacrifice…not to mention a lot of hard work and perseverance. If you want to see a grown man cry, find that car. It personifies everything we stand for at Papa John’s.”

Also this week, Papa John’s much-talked-about “augmented reality” icon of Schnatter’s Camaro rolls out on boxes across the country. A new frontier for marketers, augmented reality is an online application that allows the user to interact in real-time with computer generated imagery. Already available for download and printing at www.papasroadtrip.com, when the icon is recognized by a webcam, customers may virtually take part in Papa’s Road Trip by driving Schnatter’s Camaro. Along the way, customers will be granted exclusive discounts to future Papa John’s purchases, displayed on virtual billboards along the virtual road.

While in New York, Schnatter will ring the Closing Bell at NASDAQ and offer free pizza to Times Square pedestrians. A live webcast of the NASDAQ Closing Bell will be available at http://www.nasdaq.com/about/marketsitetowervideo.asx. Earlier in the day, Schnatter will be visiting a number of Papa John’s restaurants in the New York area to make and deliver pizzas alongside his team members.

The entire time, Schnatter will be joined by two lucky intern “sidekicks,” who will be chronicling their stop in New York via photos, videos, blogs and tweets at www.papasroadtrip.com.

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world's third largest pizza company. For nine of the last 10 years, consumers have rated Papa John's No. 1 in customer satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the highly regarded American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Papa John's also ranks first among pizza companies in the 2008 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, was honored by Restaurants & Institutions Magazine

(R&I) with the 2008 Silver Award for Consumers’ Choice in Chains in the pizza segment, and was named 2007 Pizza Today Chain of the Year. For more information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa John's at www.papajohns.com.

Source: Papa John's International, Inc.

Papa John's International, Inc.
Tish Muldoon, 502-261-4987
Sr. Director, Corporate Communications
or
Fleishman-Hillard
Doug Terfehr, 314-982-9134