Longtime Louisville-based pizza company Papa Johns is selling its local headquarters

Citing changing workforce needs, homegrown pizza empire Papa Johns plans to sell its Louisville corporate office.

The campus at 2002 Papa Johns Blvd. in Jeffersontown will be put on the market next week, company spokesman Harrison Sheffield confirmed.

“Since returning to in-office work last year, we’ve determined that the current Papa Johns campus no longer fits the needs of our Louisville workforce," the company said in a provided statement. "While we are putting the campus up for sale, we remain committed to the Louisville Metro area and will maintain a corporate hub here."

Plans for that hub still include a physical office presence in Louisville, Sheffield said. The company would prefer to lease back a portion of its current space, which was newly built in 1999, but would seek an alternate location if necessary.

The company's IT, supply chain and legal teams will still be based in the Louisville area, as well the executives who lead those teams. Its finance shared services teams will also remain Louisville based.

“All the functions and services that are currently on the Louisville campus … are remaining at that campus for now, and then we will, based on the terms of the sale, assess what is the next best place for our team members to be housed," Sheffield said.

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The selling of the corporate office, first reported by WDRB, is another step toward a lighter Louisville footprint for the company, which was founded in Jeffersonville, Indiana, in 1984.

Papa Johns announced in 2020 that it would create a global headquarters in Atlanta, while still maintaining an office of hundreds of employees in Louisville. The Georgia office, at Three Ballpark Center at The Battery Atlanta, opened in October 2021.

Explaining the move, leadership at the time said Atlanta was its largest corporate-owned restaurant market and a hub for fast-food chain innovation. Georgia’s largest city also provided access to a larger airport with domestic and international markets and a larger talent pool.

Still, leadership at the time assured Louisvillians it had no plans to leave the Derby City, saying it would keep 550 of its 750 corporate jobs in Kentucky.

"We're happy and excited to maintain a large corporate presence here," Rob Lynch, president and chief executive office, told The Courier Journal at that time. "We love Louisville ... The reality is we're going to have three distinct headquarter hubs. Louisville will be our biggest."

The company did not have updated employment figures for 2023 as of Wednesday.

Sarah Davasher-Wisdom, president and CEO of Greater Louisville Inc., said in a statement that retaining and expanding existing businesses are key parts of the chamber of commerce's regional economic development strategy.

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"We are happy Papa Johns is retaining its strong Louisville workforce and as a brand born in Greater Louisville, we appreciate their continued commitment to our community, whether they remain at their current campus or move to a new location in Louisville Metro," she said in a statement.

Sheffield noted the Atlanta office is a leased space, as are most of the company's "quality control centers," dough production and distribution hubs that service restaurants across the country.

The company — referred to as "co-headquartered" in Atlanta and Louisville in a recent financial disclosure — has implemented a hybrid model for corporate employees where there is work-from-home flexibility but "a physical location has a role to play," Sheffield said.

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As for the company's commitment to the Louisville area, Sheffield pointed toward ongoing hiring for jobs in the market and increased philanthropic efforts in the area.

“Papa Johns has been a part of Louisville for over 40 years and we intend to maintain keeping Louisville very close to the success of our business," he said.

Company founder John Schnatter bemoaned the "unfortunate and unnecessary decision" by current leadership.

“This is another sign that the company I founded, Papa John’s International, has abandoned our hometown of Louisville, KY," he said in a prepared statement. “Far too many companies forget their roots and lose their identity in the process. This is clearly the case for Papa John’s."

Schnatter resigned as CEO of the company in early 2018 after he suggested NFL player protests had hurt his business. He soon after resigned from the company's board of directors following news reports that he used a racial slur on a conference call, though Schnatter has said he was quoting someone at the time.

The company has moved to distance itself from its namesake and longtime spokesman, rebranding from "Papa John's" to "Papa Johns" in 2021 amid a larger brand refresh.

Papa John's International has more than 5,500 restaurants in 47 countries and territories, according to the company.

Business reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at mglowicki@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4000 or on Twitter @mattglo. Contact reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@courier-journal.com or on Twitter at @oliviamevans_

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Papa Johns selling its Louisville headquarters years after Atlanta move