Papa John’s International, Inc. recently marked the opening of its first restaurant in Lyon, France with a launch party. Family, friends and media were the first to sample menu offerings and enjoy a better pizza experience. The new restaurant, located in the 9th District of Lyon, is one of more than 20 Papa John’s restaurants planned for Southern France. Restaurants in the Confluence and Francheville areas of Lyon will open in the coming weeks.

The new venture is owned and operated by Vantage Tourism and Entertainment, a fast-growing, successful franchise business partner for Papa John’s International, Inc. with more than 45 restaurants in Egypt. Ludovic Baudequin, Director of Operations for Vantage, is very happy with this opening in Lyon: “We are very excited to open our first restaurant in Lyon, the world capital of gastronomy. We are convinced that the quality of our ingredients and pizzas will exceed the expectations of our future customers. We are very excited to introduce them to Better Ingredients. Better Pizza.”

“Our global store growth momentum means that we’re opening fantastic new stores worldwide and attracting new customers to our quality-focused brand. We’re excited that pizza lovers in Lyon can now experience the Better ingredients in our delicious pizzas enjoyed by Papa John’s consumers around the world,” says Tim O’Hern, Senior Vice President & Chief Development Officer.

The entry into Southern France continues Papa John’s expansion in Europe. Papa John’s International has over 360 restaurants in the U.K. In addition, Papa John’s opened its first restaurants in Northeastern France in 2016 and will be opening in Poland in December 2017. Papa John’s International is currently looking for potential franchisees in Paris, France, as well as Germany, Belgium, and Denmark.