Papa John’s began in 1984 when John Schnatter sold pizzas from a broom closet in his father’s tavern in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
Schnatter removed the broom closet from Mick’s Lounge, used the space for pizza equipment, and began selling pizzas to customers. The early operation was small, but it established the chain’s focus on delivery and pizza made for carryout and home orders.
Papa John’s expanded through franchising and became one of the major American pizza delivery brands. Its original founder is commonly called “Papa John,” although his legal name is John Schnatter.
The broom-closet detail is sometimes confused with the broader claim that the chain’s first formal restaurant was a full-size store. The company’s origin story specifically refers to the makeshift pizza operation inside the tavern before later standalone locations were developed.