Papa John’s pizza shop on Upper Richmond Road will close in May, the company has announced.
The closure is one of 16 stores shutting across London and one of 43 across the country as part of a review of sites that are “no longer financially viable.”
The pizza company will still have over 400 shops across the UK, however, and has plans to open more restaurants in holiday and retail parks.
For Putney, it is yet another loss on a High Street that is plagued with vacancies. Even businesses that have been making a profit have been closed in recent years due to the fact that our area’s high rents and business rates will often make a Putney store one of the least financially viable areas of the UK.
We are supporting the Save the High Street campaign which aims to bring life back to Putney’s town center. Find out more here.
With the economy still suffering and the Office of National Statistics revealing today that the UK entered a recession at the end of 2023, companies are cutting back and Putney stores are often on the chopping block.
There is some good news for pizza lovers, however. Base Face pizza, which opened last month, is just a few doors down from Papa John’s – and you can read more about it in our interview with its owner Tim Thornton.
Chris Phylactou, managing director of Papa Johns UK, said of the closures: “Strategic closures were previously confirmed by Papa Johns to improve profitability and free up money. While this is a difficult decision, closing these underperforming locations will give us the opportunity to invest back into the right locations with the right partners for long-term growth.”
The decision comes amid much bigger changes at Papa John’s parent company in the US. At the end of January, its Chief Operating Officer left the company and last week its CEO Rob Lynch was replaced by Ravi Thanawala.
