Papa Murphy’s Franchise Review: Q&A with Victoria Tullett

Chief Legal Officer of the iconic take and bake pizza franchise explains why owning an essential business like Papa Murphy’s is a wise choice for entrepreneurs during this pandemic.

Since Covid-19 hit our country, consumer behavior is changing overnight. Not only are millions of Americans practicing social distancing at home, but many independent operators are also shutting their doors while ‘essential’ businesses are thriving during this pandemic.

During this unfortunate time, one thing has become clear: millions of people still need to feed themselves and their families at an affordable price — and online sales, takeout and delivery are spiking because of it. 

This is where Papa Murphy’s outshines the competition. Our fresh opportunity capitalizes on American consumers’ love of pizza – and we aren’t your typical pizza concept. After nearly 40 years in business, we continue to be different on purpose and our beloved customers know it, which is why they constantly rate us No. 1 as their favorite pizza. Even better, our customers know they will not get a fresher experience than Papa Murphy’s, as our take and bake pizza franchise features scratch-made dough, freshly grated mozzarella cheese, butcher quality meats and high-quality veggies.

In this wide-ranging interview, Victoria Tullett, Chief Legal Officer at Papa Murphy’s shares everything from what makes franchising more attractive than ever to why the take and bake pizza franchise is a best-bet investment.

What advantages does Papa Murphy’s have over the competition right now? 

Tullett: Now is a better time than ever for people to be able to provide fast, fresh, affordable meals for their families — and that’s what Papa Murphy’s has done since our founding nearly 40 years ago. Our restaurants do not offer dine-in service, but have offered carryout from the beginning. We also offer online ordering and third-party delivery, however, we are working to perfect our curbside delivery to provide even more contact free service to our guests. 

This is a really dark time for many independent operators and owners. However, for many franchisees, they feel like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel because of the support they’re receiving from their franchisors. What makes Papa Murphy’s business model special?

Tullett: If you’re going to be in business for yourself, having the backing of a franchisor is going to make the difference. If I’m a single owner right now, it’s really difficult to know where to turn with questions and how to navigate this crisis. However, we can help them owner to owner and lead the way as a franchisor by providing best practices in store and resources for how to navigate the various changes. As a franchisor, Papa Murphy’s is committed to providing our franchise owners with all resources, training, and ongoing coaching they need to grow their business over the long term. I’m very enthusiastic about the relationship between the franchisor and the franchisees going forward here because we’ve come together to act as a system to ensure that we all come out of this strong as a brand and as a consumer choice. 

In the new normal, customers will have new radical expectations of cleanliness for all restaurants. How does Papa Murphy’s meet that need?

Tullett: It’s all about consumer perception. With our business model, people are not lingering. They’re not sitting down and they’re not drinking and eating in the restaurant. So it’s easy to send the cues to the consumer that this is a very clean and fast environment in terms of transaction and guest engagement. Those things not only help us, but we also take cleaning, sanitizing and safety very seriously. Quality is one of our core tenants of the brand and you can’t have quality if you don’t have spotlessly clean stores. 

What other consumer behavior changes do you think we’ll see that’ll directly impact Papa Murphy’s? 

Tullett: The great thing is people are cooking at home. And not only are we cooking at home, we’re cooking a lot of meals, right? This highlights the benefit of having control over what you want to eat and when you want to eat. We’ve always known these things to be the case, but now it’s appreciated because of the rediscovery of family time and how much fun it can be. This is what Papa Murphy’s is about — family. Additionally, Papa Murphy’s makes it easy to create your own pizza as opposed to doing it at home. It can be very expensive when you start buying all of the different toppings. Instead, you can come to Papa Murphy’s and get a great, tasty, delicious product at an affordable price. Then take it home, put that in the oven and have a meal on the table in less than 20 minutes. .

Why do you think now would be an important time to begin the journey towards ownership? 

Tullett: I think that for all of us this is a time of reflection to gauge what changes we want to make in our lives so that we are positioned more ideally going forward. With so much time at home, we’re seeing the world may be different when this is over. And if so, how do we see ourselves emerging from this experience? Also, businesses are going to change and shift. Some businesses are going to be more poised for growth in the future than others. For someone who wants to work closer to home, take control of their working environment, and sell a product that stays in demand regardless of the economic climate, this is a great brand to consider. 

This crisis also presents a great opportunity to buy an existing restaurant. What are the benefits of that?

Tullett: Purchasing an existing restaurant is a wonderful opportunity to get into business because with it being open you know exactly what your costs are walking in, and you also  already have an ongoing revenue stream. Ultimately, it takes a lot of risk out of opening a store. So, the question becomes how can you make it yours and how much are you paying for that? Additionally, resale is an opportunity for new people to join a franchise system. At Papa Murphy’s, we love the new ideas and new excitement and enthusiasm that helps to keep the entire brand invigorated when we have new people coming in. So this is absolutely the right time for a candidate to be able to enter the system at a reasonable cost with less risk and an ongoing revenue stream.

Bring A Take and Bake Pizza Franchise to Your Community

A Papa Murphy’s franchise is a low-cost investment opportunity offering high growth potential. Join this dynamic brand as we expand our footprint across the United States. Initial investment costs range from $286,919,295 to $524,205, depending on numerous factors, including geographic areas, condition of the premises and construction costs. We have grown to more than 1,200 locations in the United States, Canada and UAE thanks to a business model built for entrepreneurs who are passionate about making a difference in their community, bringing families together, and most of all – pizza.