Watch as the Mayor of Sleaford creates his own pizza while officially opening the new Papa Johns franchise in town creating up to 20 new jobs

The new shop on Lincoln Road, close to the Coop food store, opened at 11am on Thursday, creating up to 20 new local jobs.

Husband and wife Sukhy and Kam Bains joined the franchise in 2011 and now successfully run 17 Papa Johns stores with their four children and their supportive, dedicated team.

Mayor of Sleaford, Coun Anthony Brand commented: “I was delighted to be asked to open Sleaford’s newest Papa Johns. As mayor, it’s always great to see restaurants and businesses creating new jobs in the town for members of the local community.”

Having cut the ribbon, Coun Brand was invited to pull on a cap and apron to have a go in the kitchen topping his own pizzas before putting them through one of the pair of high-tech conveyor belt ovens which ensure every pizza is cooked to perfection. He then was taught to slice then and box them correctly ready for delivery!

All the pizzas are made dough hand-stretched, topped and cooked on the premises, with all ingredients supplied from the Papa Johns factory in Milton Keynes to ensure quality control.

Kam and Sukhy explained that they been running a hosiery business in Leicester before being attracted to try something different and joining Papa Johns, opening their first store in Nottingham in 2009. They said: “It’s a real family business. Both ourselves and children have gained extensive experience in the hospitality industry working with Papa Johns. Starting with one store over 10 years ago, and today opening our 17th is such an achievement and reflection of our hard work.”

Kam said: “Opening the first store was a challenge but since then it has become easier as we have grown.”

Sukhy said they still maintain the family ethos throughout their team and encourage career development.

He said they first visited the town last year and really liked it, spotting the unit which had been a cafe at the time. Sukhy admitted it has been tough for the hospitality industry lately since Covid and the cost of living crisis but was confident in their brand and knew they could make it work.

“We thought Sleaford was the ideal location for a new Papa Johns as it’s a vibrant town, but with limited pizza options - and we felt local people deserved the best! The unit in Lincoln Road has been fitted out with a new store design to create a fresh look. Customers can even watch their pizzas being made (through a specially positioned window beside the counter), which is great fun.

"We want to serve the standard of food we would want to order for ourselves.”

They aim to deliver for anyone within a four mile radius. it will be open 11am to 11pm seven days a week.

In the last six months they have also taken on franchises in Newark, Melton Mowbray and Grantham and Sukhy said: “We have a strong relationship with the Papa Johns head office team, which gets even better as the years go on. We are supported by everyone in construction, marketing and operations who help us run our stores successfully every day and make the process of opening new stores as smooth as possible.

“The Sleaford launch is a step in our goal to open 20 Papa Johns. We look forward to sharing our great pizza with the local community.”

Papa Johns was founded in the USA in 1984 and there are more than 500 stores across the UK and over 5,000 stores worldwide.