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Key Points
In a recent earnings call, the CEO of MTY Group announced plans to close up to 50 Papa Murphy’s locations nationwide.The announcement comes on the heels of significant underperformance and plans to restructure the business.The closures are slated to start this week and continue for the next nine months, although if there is continued underperformance, we could see more added to the list.
It’s a sad day for the country’s fifth-largest pizza chain. Beginning today, Papa Murphy’s will close locations across the country as part of efforts to restructure the franchise and improve performance.
During a second-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings call with MTY Group, owner of Papa Murphy’s, CEO Eric Lefebvre shared that the company plans to close 68 underperforming corporate-owned restaurants—up to 50 of which will be Papa Murphy’s locations (the company also owns popular chains such as Cold Stone Creamery, TCBY, and Wetzel’s Pretzels, which could also be affected).
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Closures will take place over the next six to nine months, with some beginning as early as this week. “We don’t want to rush into any of these decisions and cause further damage,” Lefebvre said. “We will do things in order to protect the staff also that’s in the store and take the time to negotiate properly with the landlords, handle all the distribution issues that might arise from closing a certain number of locations.”
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Papa Murphy’s business model differs from other major pizza chains, like Pizza Hut and Domino’s: It sells take-and-bake pizza, crafted in-store for customers to bake at home. While this is a great way for consumers to enjoy custom-made pizza fresh in the comfort of their own home, perhaps the extra step of baking it is hindering the company in the long run.
Despite its unique model, it’s not the only pizza chain seeing a decline in business. Pizza Hut has shuttered hundreds of locations, and other chain restaurants seem to be suffering, as well. Just this year, we’ve seen Romano’s Macaroni Grill, On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, Red Lobster, and even Dairy Queen close dozens of locations nationwide.
Sadly, Lefebvre shared that if other locations continue to underperform, more restaurant closures could be in the future.
