Oct. 26, 2012 – Papa Murphy’s has its eyes on expansion throughout Western Canada.
Oct. 26, 2012 – Papa Murphy’s has its eyes on expansion throughout Western Canada.
The take ‘n’ bake pizza chain today opens a store in Surrey, B.C., making it the 18th location open in Canada. Other recent openings include a location in Sherwood Park, Alta., and one in Winnipeg, the restaurant’s first location in Manitoba.
“We have 18 stores, and our business plan is based on growing to about 80 locations in the next five years,” says Chuck van der Lee, owner and president of Papa M Pizza Canada. “But we’ve done the network plan, and we will be able to do more than 80 just in Western Canada. As we expand into Ontario and Atlantic Canada there’s room for more.”
The company is focusing on Western Canada for now. “We’re located out here,” van der Lee says. “In the United States, the concept has grown extremely successfully from west to east. It works best where you have critical mass and awareness in each market. For the next 18 months we’re going to focus on Western Canada.”
The take ‘n’ bake concept has been around since 1981 when two chains merged, forming Papa Murphy’s, according van der Lee. The goal was to provide fresh pizza that the customer can bake in their own oven, at their convenience. “The customer either phones in or drops in to a store, and we prepare the pizza to their liking,” says van der Lee. “We have all of the traditional pizzas, but we’re able to uniquely tailor it to the customer.”
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