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Pizza Chains Seek Outside Help as Food-Delivery Market Grows

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  • Papa John’s, Pizza Hut turn to DoorDash, Grubhub for delivery
  • Upscale toppings seen luring diners as well: Papa John’s CEO
A pepperoni pizza from a Pizza Hut restaurant.

A pepperoni pizza from a Pizza Hut restaurant.

 Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon

Here’s the latest sign that changes are afoot in the $500 billion U.S. restaurant market: Even the pioneers of food delivery -- big pizza chains -- are now turning to third parties for help.

Papa John’s International Inc., trying to recover from its deep sales slump, is using DoorDash Inc. in more than 1,300 of its locations. It will be expanding that partnership in the coming months, Chief Executive Officer Steve Ritchie said after the pizza chain reported revenue that missed analysts’ estimates.