<P> The Papa John 's restaurant was founded in 1984 when `` Papa '' John Schnatter knocked out a broom closet in the back of his father 's tavern , Mick 's Lounge , in Jeffersonville , Indiana . He then sold his 1971 Camaro Z28 to purchase US $ 1,600 worth of used pizza equipment and began selling pizzas to the tavern 's customers out of the converted closet . His pizzas proved sufficiently popular that a year later he moved into an adjoining space . Dipping sauce specifically for pizza was invented by Papa John 's Pizza that same year , and has since become popular when eating pizza , especially the crust . The company went public in 1993 . A year later it had 500 stores , and by 1997 it had opened 1,500 stores . In 2009 , Schnatter reacquired the Camaro back after offering a reward of $250,000 for the car . </P>
<P> The Papa John 's restaurant was founded in 1984 when `` Papa '' John Schnatter knocked out a broom closet in the back of his father 's tavern , Mick 's Lounge , in Jeffersonville , Indiana . He then sold his 1971 Camaro Z28 to purchase US $ 1,600 worth of used pizza equipment and began selling pizzas to the tavern 's customers out of the converted closet . His pizzas proved sufficiently popular that a year later he moved into an adjoining space . Dipping sauce specifically for pizza was invented by Papa John 's Pizza that same year , and has since become popular when eating pizza , especially the crust . The company went public in 1993 . A year later it had 500 stores , and by 1997 it had opened 1,500 stores . In 2009 , Schnatter reacquired the Camaro back after offering a reward of $250,000 for the car . </P>
when did the first papa john 's open
when did the first papa john 's open
1984
1984