Papa John's Continues Growth in Asia with Milestone Restaurant Openings

Papa John's Continues Growth in Asia with Milestone Restaurant OpeningsPizza Chain to Open 40th Restaurant in South Korea and 20th Restaurant in Shanghai

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Jan 30, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Papa John's International (Nasdaq: PZZA) continues its explosive growth oversees with the opening of its 40th restaurant in Seoul, South Korea and its 20th restaurant in Shanghai, China.

Papa John's executives, Food Service President Julie Larner, Quality Management and Research/Development Vice President Dana Tilley and Regional Director for Asia Myles Felt attended these milestone international store openings. Larner, Tilley, and Felt are visiting the region to gather "best practices" to use in Papa John's locations worldwide and meet with local franchisees and suppliers.

"We are pleased with our franchisee's aggressive store growth coupled with comp sales improvements in this highly competitive market," said Bill Van Epps, chief operations officer for Papa John's. "We attribute our success in Korea to an excellent management team, innovations such as the recently launched national call center, and Papa John's trademark excellence in product quality."

Korea locations continue to be singled out for their growth and leadership. At the 2004 and 2005 Operators' Conference, Papa John's recognized its highest quality franchisees by presenting international top honors to PJI Korea Co., LTD., the franchise group for the South Korea market.

Last year, Papa John's announced plans to open 250 restaurants in China over the next five years. The Shanghai opening marks the 27th location in China.

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John's is the world's third largest pizza company. For six years running, consumers have rated Papa John's No. 1 in customer satisfaction among all national QSR chains in the highly regarded American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). As of December 25, 2005, there were 2,926 Papa John's restaurants (504 company-owned and 2,422 franchised) operating in 49 states and in 22 international markets. Papa John's also franchises 112 Perfect Pizza restaurants in the United Kingdom. For more information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa John's at www.papajohns.com.

SOURCE: Papa John's International

Papa John's International
Tish Muldoon, 502-261-4987