Pizza chain's success still growing
Tough economy isn't stopping Papa Murphy's franchise owner from opening a seventh store in the Yakima Valley
Yakima Herald-Republic
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Pizzerias thrive in economic downturns.
With record high gas prices and people losing jobs, pizza joints are cost-effective alternatives to eating out at steak houses and other restaurants, said Jeremy White, executive editor of Pizza Today, an industry trade magazine in Louisville, Ky.
"The cost of pizza has increased over the last year and a half," he said. "But a family of four still can have a meal at a pizzeria for less than $20 and you can't do that at too many other restaurants."
So while many restaurants nationwide scale back on their expansion plans, Don and West Copp will open their seventh Papa Murphy's at the shopping complex at 16th and Summitview avenues next month.
Don Copp, who spent 12 years as an outdoor educator, was exposed to the company in 1993 when he worked at a Papa Murphy's in Seaside, Ore.
That location was owned by his brother, who currently owns about 20 stores in the Portland, Salem and Kansas City, Mo., areas.
Copp, who grew up in Portland, decided to purchase his own franchise. He sold all his outdoor equipment to help get the necessary capital and moved to Yakima. He opened his first location at 64 W. Nob Hill Blvd. in 1995.
In more than 13 years, the Copps have opened and remodeled their locations in Yakima, Selah, Toppenish and Sunnyside.
With the new store opening, Copp will have about 100 employees in his seven stores. Workers typically make up to $11 an hour and are offered other benefits, such as college tuition contribution and incentive bonuses.
"I keep trying to throw in different competitions and bonus programs to not only compete against other Papa Murphy's stores, but keep us fresh," Copp said. "A lot of times in businesses, they get stalemated and do the same thing over and over."
The Vancouver, Wash.-based chain expects 170 new locations to open this year, according to company spokeswoman Lindsi Miller. The company owns about 70 stores, and 430 franchisees run the remaining 1,000 locations.
In 2007, all stores grossed $500 million in sales, an increase of 13 percent from the year prior.
Pizza Today has recognized Papa Murphy's in its "Chain of the Year" contest in 2001, 2006 and 2008. It is the only company to be selected for the award multiple times.
"Their price point rivals or beats the price of the quote, unquote value chains," White said. "And their quality typically exceeds that."
The key to the chain's success has been its take-and-bake concept. Pizzas are prepared fresh to order. Customers then pick up the pizza to bake in their home ovens.
Under this business model, Papa Murphy's franchisees don't have some of the costs associated with running other pizzerias, such as buying expensive ovens or freezer storage, paying greater rents for large storefront space, or having extra labor costs to run delivery or dine-in operations.
As a result, the amount of money needed to open a Papa Murphy's location is considerably lower than other pizzerias.
Copp said a new location can cost between $175,000 to $200,000.
The price of opening other pizzerias can vary, but it typically ranges from $350,000 to as much as a $1 million, White said.
Copp, too, has seen success in his franchise. On average, his locations see profit margins of 8 percent to 12 percent. And so far this year, revenues are up about 5 percent to 6 percent from the same period a year ago.
He is also known among his employees for running an efficient operation.
More than a decade ago, Dave Moser's daughter began working for Copp in one of his locations.
As he chatted with his daughter about her job, he saw that Copp could use some help managing the day-to-day operations. He soon began working part time to attend to those tasks, while working at his management job at Shields Bag and Printing.
When Copp envisioned more locations, he offered Moser, now 53, a full-time district manager position to run the day-to-day operations for all the current and future locations.
With two decades at Shields, leaving his job was a tough choice. But Copp showed his financial numbers and his projected growth, which convinced Moser to take the job.
"(Copp) works very hard at putting what he's made back into his business to keep himself viable in tougher times," he said.
Copp sees opening a few more locations, but there are no definite plans. For now, he's focused on the Summitview store, which he believes will serve a strong customer demand.
"I think there's limited food and restaurants on the north side of Yakima, so I think it's a good location," he said.
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