‘Nooooo’ scream fans as major pizza chain with over 500 branches abruptly closes eight restaurants with immediate effect

A MAJOR pizza chain has announced the closure of eight restaurants with immediate effect as it struggles to find new ownership.

Papa Johns has confirmed the eight branches will remain closed until new ownership is found.

Here’s a full list of the Papa Johns branches which closed this week:

• Nantwich Road, Crewe
• Macclesfield, Cheshire
• Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
• Cannock
• Halesowen 
• Wednesfield 
• Newcastle Road, Sunderland
• Kidderminster

The restaurant chain told The Sun: "Papa Johns prides itself on providing quality ingredients and a better customer experience across all its locations throughout the UK. 

"We are committed to delivering consistency to our fans, and it’s what they have come to expect.

"Unfortunately, not all of our restaurants are meeting our expectations, which is why we’ve made the tough decision to temporarily close our stores in the Northwest and Midlands until we find new ownership.

"We are very grateful to all our team members and look forward to seeing our loyal customers again soon.’

Papa Johns says it plans to reopen the branches as soon as new ownership is found and they are currently in positive talks with a potential new owner.

The American chain has not given a timeline for branches potentially reopening.

Locals did not take to the news well when it was shared on Facebook.

One user said: “Still better than Domino’s”

Another said: “Noooooooo!!!!”

“Sad that people will lose their jobs,” said someone else.

Papa Johns is the UK's second-largest pizza takeaway brand and has 118 branches that it owns and runs, as well as 406 franchises.

Domino's, the chain's biggest rival, operates at 1,253 locations and Pizza Hut 150.

Papa Johns' first British restaurant opened in 1999 in Grays in Essex after the brand went international.

But by 2013, it celebrated the opening of its 200th UK store.

The pizza chain closed 22 restaurants in 20223 but opened new branches in 15 locations.

In January, The Sun exclusively revealed that up to 100 Papa Johns branches are facing closure this year.

The chain, which operates 524 locations in the UK, recently told investors it anticipates "additional strategic restaurant closures of low-performing restaurants" in a bid to boost profits.

The closures come as hospitality bosses say that they are facing the worst start to the year ever with a string of high-profile closures.

Energy costs have risen and more shoppers are choosing to conveniently order online rather than head into restaurants.

This has left some chains grappling with tighter budgets and having no choice but to close some branches to cut costs.

In January 2023, Byron Burger fell into administration, with owners saying it would result in the loss of over 200 jobs.

Taco Bell which hasn't been on the scene long pulled down the shutters on a drive-thru restaurant in Aberdeen.

Hostmore, the owner of restaurant chain TGI Fridays and 63rd+1st has said that it will no longer open any new restaurants until at least 2025, after confirming a drop in earnings.

Costa Coffee is due to shut two cafes by the end of this month.

Italian dining chain Prezzo revealed plans to shut 46 restaurants back in April due to soaring energy and food costs, putting 810 jobs at risk.

Even Wetherspoon has struggled to brace the storm with 40 pubs closing down last and as many as 20 preparing to shut this year.

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