National Papa John's Appreciation Day -- Enjoying Good Pizza While Sticking It To Libs

Just had a small Papa John's pepperoni pizza to participate in National Papa John's Appreciation Day (see earlier post).

While I was at the nearby franchise on Elden St. in Herndon, I also learned some about the DC Area franchisee, Colonel's Limited LLC and, pay attention Obama, how they built their company.

At age 23, Andy Freitas implored a family friend to invest $70,000 for a 44 percent stake in his Papa John’s franchise. The investor accepted, sealing the deal with a handshake on his couch — and probably hoarding thoughts that he was kissing that cash goodbye.

Four years later, the investor found himself with $1.4 million in returns.

By then, Freitas owned a half dozen Papa John’s locations, and his father was vindicated in his decision to retire from the Army and pursue a career in, of all things, chain pizzerias.

Co-founders of Colonel’s Limited LLC, Andy and father Bill now operate 53 Papa John’s locations throughout the Washington area.

...The family opened its first location in Sterling in 1993, when Andy was barely a year out of Hampden-Sydney College. For Bill, the franchise business was a considerable switch from his previous jobs, which included chief of conventional war plans during the Gulf War.

The two received zero salaries for the first five years — Bill’s wife took a job behind a Nordstrom’s cash register at the time — but the company slowly began opening new Papa John’s locations to take advantage of the development around Dulles International Airport. By 1999, some of those spots were churning out some of the highest sales volumes in the country.

Didn't take salaries and the wife took a job at the mall just to make ends meet for the first five years.  Yet Obama wants to tell small business owners they didn't build their company?

By the way, the pizza was great.  Tastes good when you stick it to the libs.