Franchise Focus

Papa Johns franchisee becomes mogul in his own franchise

Nadeem Bajwa began his Papa Johns career as a delivery driver. Today, he owns 192 franchises and has his sights set on 500.

Provided

May 30, 2023 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group

This is the story of the American dream. It's Nadeem Bajwa's story, a Pakistani immigrant who came to the United States in 1991 for grad school. While in college, Bajwa started his career as a pizza delivery driver for a Papa Johns franchise and moved his way up to owning his own store in Canfield, Ohio.

Bajwa now owns 192 Papa Johns stores, making him a mogul within his own franchise system. His goal? To own 500 Papa Johns units, and it's a goal he takes seriously.

Bajwa graduated from the Indiana School of Technology in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with a triple degree in management, marketing and accounting. While at school, he began cleaning dishes for a restaurant before moving into a delivery role with Papa Johns. The brand has just opened its first franchise in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Bajwa had ambition, but he lacked the experience to run his own store.

"I started learning about the model, and I started to like it," Bajwa said. "I started learning about Papa Johns (and) how the brand was built. It was an interesting story. What really affected me was the business model. It's a very simple model. It was easy to learn."

Nadeem Bajwa, center, at a ribbon cutting for one of his stores. Provided.

So while in grad school, Bajwa was offered a management position and later a role as an area supervisor/operating partner overseeing seven locations while still going to school full-time.

After graduation, Bajwa never thought he'd be in the pizza industry. After all, he had four degrees. As a fresh graduate, he'd more than likely have to take a pay cut to start anew and he was already making more than that with the pizza brand.

"I started liking it, and when I couldn't find anything (better) out there, and I was actually happy and doing what I love … I just decided to stay with the brand and just continue to improve my skills. It was the brand's story and the business model that affected me," Bajwa said.

Bajwa left the pizza chain for a few years, landing in the Hardee's franchise, but did not like the burger business. Bajwa said the Papa Johns model, with four or five employees and one oven, is simple, but requires passion and dedication. He opened his first store in Ohio in 2002 with his family's support.

Bajwa said he knew how to be an operating partner, but a business owner is different. "For the first store, I just though if we could do $12,000 or $13,000 in sales, I'm just going to manage myself. I'm going to open a couple more stores and see how that goes."

Bajwa said he ended up doing too much marketing for his first opening. The store had a huge response, and Bajwa admitted he wasn't ready. The first couple of days were tough. He had 30 employees at that first store, and demand for Papa Johns had the store fighting to catch up while still training new employees. Half his team quit the first day.

"I obviously got all the support I could get from Papa Johns, but when you're an independent franchisee, obviously you own the problem," Bajwa cautioned. He called some old team members he'd worked with in the past to come help. Within two weeks, he had his people trained, but Bajwa wasn't happy with the way the opening had gone.

Bajwa ran an ad in the local newspaper apologizing to the community for the rough opening, and he said people appreciated the move. He held a customer appreciation day where some free products were given away "and a good journey started," he said.

Bajwa said his initial plan was to own 10 to 20 Papa Johns units, but by the time the recession hit in 2008, Bajwa had more than 20. "What I learned is from the first store, that tough opening, no matter how good I am, I'm not good enough if I don't have a good team around me," Bajwa admitted. "I don't feel I am the smartest guy. You don't have to be the smartest. You have to be smart enough."

It was the people Bajwa surrounded himself with whom he credits for his success.

"That's when my mindset changed with how many stores I was going to open," Bajwa said, adding that he's got leaders who started with him as delivery drivers and order takers.

"When you help people develop and become leaders, and if you're passionate and surround yourself with great leaders whom you develop and they look at your passion, then their dreams grow also," Bajwa said.

Small failures along Bajwa's journey kept him motivated and humble, he said, but he credits his people for his successes. He has good field operators, but he still likes to go into his own stores. "I don't call it a pizza business," Bajwa said. "I call it a people business."

When asked what challenges he's had, Bajwa said the pandemic shutdowns were difficult with staffing, but "I'm proud to say we only closed when we had to close and disinfect," he said.

Now with 192 Papa Johns franchises across 11 states within 25 years, Bajwa says his goal is to hit 500 stores. With the right people around him, he can hit that goal, he added.

Still, Bajwa doesn't want prospective franchisees to think the franchise business is easy. Although the model is simple, there's still a lot of had work and planning behind the scenes.

"It's not a side business," Bajwa added. "You have to be fully devoted to your business to succeed. I was lucky to find Papa Johns."

About Mandy Wolf Detwiler

Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the site editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places.

An award-winning print journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience to Networld Media Group. She has spent nearly two decades covering the pizza industry, from independent pizzerias to multi-unit chains and every size business in between. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and can tell you where to find the best slices in the country after spending 15 years traveling and eating pizza for a living.

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