Papa Johns, which dropped the apostrophe in its name last year, is now ditching its pizza crust, but just for a new menu category that features its delicious, fan-favorite toppings in a bowl.
Papa Johns Papa Bowls
Called Papa Bowls, this new line of pizza dishes is everything you love about Papa Johns pizza without the crust – crisp vegetables, juicy meats, melty cheeses, and delectable signature sauces – all baked to piping hot perfection. Papa Bowls are available in three flavors: Italian Meats Trio, Chicken Alfredo, and Garden Veggie.
Italian Meats Trio
This Papa Bowl variety features signature pizza and alfredo sauces, layered with Papa Johns signature pepperoni, sausage, meatballs, green peppers, onions, and tomatoes. It is topped with three melty cheeses and sprinkled with Italian seasoning.
Chicken Alfredo
Topped with a melty three cheese blend and Italian seasoning, this Papa Bowl flavor features creamy alfredo and garlic parmesan sauces and juicy grilled chicken, complete with spinach, mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes.
Garden Veggie
This pizza dish includes spinach, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, tomatoes and banana peppers baked in a bowl with Papa Johns signature pizza sauce and garlic parmesan, covered in three melty cheeses, and topped with Italian seasoning.
In addition to the three meticulously crafted signature varieties, customers can also build their own Papa Bowl using their favorite Papa Johns pizza ingredients.
It’s worthy to note that Papa Bowls are made with toppings and sauces Papa Johns already has in stores. This is a deliberate decision made by the pizza chain to avoid any potential supply chain issues.
“We are very excited to offer Papa Bowls as a new menu category and as a new way consumers can experience our premium ingredients,” said Scott Rodriguez, Papa Johns Senior Vice President of Menu Strategy and Product Innovation, in a press release announcing the new menu category. “Our signature crust continues to be a beloved favorite, but we know that sometimes customers crave something different. We want them to know we are committed to delivering on all of those cravings through our menu.”
In an interview with CNN Business, Rodriguez suggested that Papa Bowls are the chain’s response to pizza fatigue. “There’s a general thought that there could be a little bit of pizza fatigue because that’s all we’ve had for the last couple of years,” the exec said, before adding that the company is hoping the new menu category will put an end to the “veto vote,” an instance when a restaurant gets ruled out because it doesn’t have enough options for every member of the dining party.
Papa Bowls are partly inspired by the idea that if one person from a dining party doesn’t want pizza, the entire group can still go to Papa Johns and that person will still have something to order.
Papa Bowls release date
Papa Bowls, which cost $7.99 each, including the build-your-own option, are now available for Papa Rewards loyalty members. The complete menu category will be available for the rest of the general public across the United States starting Monday, August 22nd.
According to CNN Business, Papa Bowls were originally set to launch about six months ago, but the chain wasn’t able to procure the right packaging it needed.
As seen in the photo at the top of the article, Papa Bowls are served in a bowl that slides out from a snug-fitting sleeve, which is delivered in a cardboard box similar to a pizza box. For Papa Johns, having the proper packaging is very important, as it helps ensure that the Papa Bowls won’t show up cold.
“Temperature is probably the number one thing that our consumer keys in on,” Rodriguez told the news outlet. “We wanted to make sure that those are coming in piping hot.”
