I will not allow either my good name or the good name of the company I founded and love to be unfairly tainted.
— John Schnatter
In 1991, I didn't have $2,000 to go on vacation.
Sales went crazy when we made the pizza perfect.
If the people buying the pizza are happy, they'll probably buy the pizza again.
The board gets upset because I won't take a raise, but I've got plenty of money.
America in 2016 is on the path to becoming what Germany was in 1867.
I bombed the LSAT and quickly discovered that law school wasn't for me.
If you are a success, you can take care of people; you can give a lot to your community.
I just don't like making mistakes.
Getting big is just a byproduct of getting better.
Companies like Papa John's are largely a collection of small independent businesses.
Everybody wants to own quality, but quality takes time, and it takes money.
NFL leadership has hurt Papa John's shareholders.
When you have built a $3 billion company out of a broom closet, I think you are entitled to a nice house.
Regardless of what the minimum wage is, you really have the market wage. And if we're not taking care of our people, then we're going to lose good talent, at every level.
I don't condone racism. I don't condone prejudice.
When you start off broke - and we weren't broke, we were negative broke - you never forget that. You stay appreciative.
I didn't like the bar business.
I buried my dad on a Thursday and showed up for work on Friday.
I think if there was a sharing in the ups, a sharing in the downs, the country would not be as divided.
If you don't take care of the people doing the heavy lifting, they will burn your castle down.
I had this dream of starting a pizza business since college. I came up with the name, menu, and recipes back then.
In school, I always had to work harder than others.
You have to make mistakes to get better. I used to make a mistake, and I kind of get down on myself. And now I make a mistake, and I go, 'Okay, did you learn from this? Did you stick to the facts, and did you stick with the logic? Did you have the analytics?'
I realized the world spins without me having to spin it.
I was born and raised in the state of Indiana, and it's where I started Papa John's, so this state and our partnership with the Pacers hold a special place in my heart.
Many in the media reported that I said Papa John's is going to close stores and cut jobs because of Obamacare. I never said that.
You've got to have free markets with limited government, with the proper amount of regulation where you don't jam entrepreneurship.
At 22, I had something I loved to do - make pizza - and something I was good at: running a business.
The original goal for Papa John's was to make $50 grand a year and have $50 grand in the bank so I could get a date.
We don't promote or advocate people eating a whole pizza.
Find something you love to do. Work it to the bone. And you'll be successful.
I have a goal of being the No.1 pizza company in the world.
As long as our quality and company continue to get better, by nature, we will get bigger.
I just like building stuff.
I pay myself three, three and half million - which is plenty of money, c'mon.
With a head coach, you make a mistake and learn. With a king, you make a mistake and get your head bitten off.
It was Labor Day weekend in 1983, and Dad hired me to run Mick's Lounge, a bar he co-owned, for $200 a week. The business was nearly bankrupt. But I said, 'Dad, I can fix it.' It was the most natural thing I'd ever done. It just made sense to me.
I love my business. I love my employees.
I don't think you can control people. I don't think you manage people. I think you give people a direction, you give them the resources, you lead by example. They get it right, you say, 'Atta girl.' And they get it wrong, you say, 'Not good.'
Better ingredients, better pizza - it's not a slogan. It's a way of life.
Pizza's actually healthy for you if you don't eat too much of it. If you eat one or two slices, it's very nutritious.
My wife's a redneck, and she loves a muscle car.
I found something I loved to do when I was 15 - making pizzas.
Daddy was fun-loving and lighthearted - he lived life to the fullest and was not scared to take a risk.
I am the American Dream.
Pizza's really nutritious; it's good for you. You can't sit down and eat a whole carton of eggs, and you can't sit down and eat a whole pizza.
