Papa John’s Named Pizza Segment Gold Winner in 2009 Restaurants & Institutions Consumers’ Choice in Chains Awards

Consumers have spoken and have declared Papa John's (NASDAQ: PZZA) the leading national delivery and takeout pizza brand in Restaurants & Institutions (R&I) 2009 Consumers’ Choice in Chains Awards. Papa John’s received the Gold Award in the pizza segment, and was the only national delivery and takeout pizza company honored in the survey.

"Through our ‘Better Ingredients. Better Pizza.’ brand promise, our focus has always been on giving our customers a superior-quality pizza," said John Schnatter, Papa John’s Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We are honored that consumers recognize and appreciate the difference quality makes.”

In its 29th year, the R&I Consumers Choice in Chains Awards are based on consumer surveys among more than 3,000 chain-restaurant patrons. For each of the nearly 120 chains visited, respondents are asked to assess eight attributes that factor into the total dining experience: food quality, service, convenience, cleanliness, value, menu variety, atmosphere and reputation. Those chains with the top scores in each of 13 industry segments are named R&I’s Consumers’ Choice in Chains winners.

"This award recognizes the hard work of Papa John’s team members throughout the country who are passionate about what they do and committed to making and delivering the industry’s highest-quality pizza,” said Bill Mitchell, Papa John’s President, Global Operations. "I thank and congratulate our corporate and franchise operators for their dedication to our brand.”

Celebrating its 25th Anniversary, Papa John's remains focused on using the highest-quality ingredients to serve its customers superior-quality products. Papa John's makes the crust of every traditional pizza with fresh (never frozen) dough prepared with clear-filtered water in the company's regional quality control centers. Papa John's uses only fresh-packed tomato sauce (not concentrate) made from vine-ripened tomatoes, which go from the vine to the can in an average of six hours; cheese made with 100 percent mozzarella; and other high-quality toppings, including baby portabella mushrooms.

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John's is the world's third largest pizza company. For nine of the last 10 years, consumers have rated Papa John's No. 1 in customer satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the highly regarded American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Papa John's was honored by Restaurants & Institutions Magazine (R&I) with the 2009 Gold Award for Consumers’ Choice in Chains in the pizza segment, ranked first among pizza companies in the 2008 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index and was named 2007 Pizza Today Chain of the Year. For more information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa John's at www.papajohns.com.