Zulfiqar Haidar and his brother Iftikhar joined Papa John’s as franchisees in 2001.  Named as Papa John’s International Small Business Franchisees of the year for 2016-7, the brothers have also been Papa John’s UK Franchisees of the Year and twice winners of the Scottish Asian Business awards. They now run five Papa John’s in Scotland. 

“Originally, I was involved in the family retail business,” confirms Zulfiqar.   “I helped my family run a convenience store.  I also had a few other jobs including selling advertising space at The Big Issue for several years.  However, we felt the way forwards would be to find a business we could run as a family.

“Papa John’s offered the chance for the whole family to become involved.  We launched in Glasgow in 2001 with my mom making the pizzas, my brother looking after the numbers, my sister on customer service, myself, plus a delivery driver!

“Papa John’s concept of: BETTER INGREDIENTS. BETTER PIZZA. Was popular immediately.   Customers kept coming back for more, plus they told their friends!

We now run five Papa John’s in Glasgow, Paisley and most recently Hamilton.  I am able to achieve a work-life balance, as I have some great staff.  Over the five outlets, we have 260 employees and 15 very good store managers and supervisors.  To be able to delegate, I need to be able to trust my senior staff 100%, recognise their commitment and give them the space to do their jobs.  As a result, this frees-up my time. 

Economies of scale and great staff, means my role has changed over the years to business owner and overall supervisor.  When we first started we never thought owning more stores would give us more free time, but it does!  My wife and family are particularly happy that we can spend more time together.

Papa John’s has offered us a secure future.  However, it has now become far more than that as it also represents the livelihoods of our people.  We will be opening more stores in Scotland soon and this will offer our staff the chance to progress.   Our aim is to create more new jobs for the local community as we grow.