Papa John’s International Inc.’s founder, blocked from the pizza chain’s headquarters amid a deepening dispute with the rest of the board, is betting that franchisees and workers will have his back.
John Schnatter, who resigned as chairman last month, took out a full-page ad in the company’s hometown paper, the Courier Journal, to direct employees of the Louisville, Kentucky-based firm to a website he’s launched, called SavePapaJohns.com. Papa John’s has about 120,000 workers worldwide, including those at its franchises.