Papa Murphy’s is a pizza chain that was started in 1981 when Papa Aldo’s Pizza was opened in Hillsboro, Oregon.  Three years after this company was founded by Robert Graham, Papa Murphy’s was started in Petaluma, California.  Terry Collins acquired both of the chains and in 1995 he merged them into Papa Murphy’s.  The chain was incorporated in 2003 and was voted the Best Pizza Chain in America by Restaurants and Institutions Magazine in 2003 as well.  They merged the company with PMI Holdings, Inc. in 2004 and the chain was finally sold to the current owner, Lee Equity Partners of New York, in 2010.  Currently there are over 1,100 stores in the United States and 14 in Canada

Papa Murphy’s provides orders for walk-in and call-in.  Some stores even have a drive-thru window for customers to pick up call-in orders.  They are not like a regular pizza restaurant because they do not bake the pizza.  They send the pizza with the customers and they bake it in their home. This is considered a take and bake type of pizza and the cost is lower because there is not a necessity for as much equipment in the space that the pizzeria is in.  Papa Murphy’s features many signature pizzas, stuffed pizzas, create your own pizzas, thin crust pizzas, and a variety of beverages and side items as well.

Papa Murphy’s offers restaurant franchise opportunities to those with a net worth of $250,000 and liquid assets of $80,000 or more.  They also require that franchisees can secure financing and commit to the location full-time.  The initial franchise fee ranges from $15,000 to $25,000 depending on how many locations the franchisee plans to open.  The initial investment can range from around $200,000 to $400,000 and this will include everything necessary to get the location up and running.