<P> On July 26, 2018, John Schnatter filed a lawsuit against Papa John's Pizza to give him access to the company's books and records after they fired him from the company after the teleconference call scandal . He describes the company's procedures as an "unexplained and heavy - handed way" to cut ties between him and the company that he founded . In addition to preventing him from accessing information, the corporation has also implemented a poison pill strategy in order to limit Schnatter's chances of buying back a majority stake in the company . </P> <P> Papa John's primarily takes carryout and delivery orders, although some stores have tables and chairs for dining in . </P> <P> Franchise owners pay a one - off franchise fee of $25,000 per restaurant, then a royalty fee of 5% of net sales, plus a charge for advertising of 8% of net sales . The company requires franchisees to have net worth of at least $250,000, the approximate amount of investment needed . Corporate operations look over franchisees to ensure brand consistency . As of January 2016 there were over 4,700 Papa John's restaurants in all 50 U.S. states and in 37 other countries and territories . Papa John's International is a publicly traded company, with 25% of its shares owned by John Schnatter . </P> <P> In January 2002, Papa John's became the first national pizza chain to make online ordering available to all of its U.S. customers . Most other national chains later added online ordering to their services . On July 10, 2004, Papa John's controlled an estimated 6.6% of the market, according to Technomic . </P>

Who owns the majority of papa john's