There was a time when Papa Murphy’s felt like the perfect life hack in many homes. You picked up a fresh pizza, baked it whenever you wanted, and got all the “fresh out of the oven” vibes without waiting for delivery. But in 2026, the brand is facing a much tougher reality, with fewer customers.
After struggling to compete in today’s crowded pizza market, Papa Murphy’s parent company says it plans to close between 45 and 50 locations.
A refresher course on Papa Murphy’s
If you somehow are not familiar with the chain, Papa Murphy’s isn’t your typical pizza place. Instead of baking your pizza in-store, employees prepare it fresh, hand it to you uncooked, and you finish the job at home.
The concept built a loyal following over the years, especially among families looking for a fresher alternative to frozen pizza. But the food landscape has changed dramatically.
Today, consumers have more choices than ever. And those options range from one-tap pizza delivery apps and ghost kitchens to grocery store take-and-bake meals, ready-to-eat supermarket pizzas, and air fryer-friendly frozen pizzas that somehow taste surprisingly decent.
The take-and-bake model has a tougher audience
Papa Murphy’s owner, MTY Food Group, says the brand has been hit especially hard by fierce competition. CEO Eric Lefebvre admitted the chain is “currently suffering a little bit more” than some of the company’s other restaurant brands.
The company had tried turning around several struggling markets after taking back groups of franchised stores. After nearly two years of effort, executives concluded those locations simply weren’t the right fit anymore.
This isn’t just about Papa Murphy’s
Papa Murphy’s isn’t the only restaurant feeling the squeeze, as the closures are part of a cleanup effort for MTY Food Group. Across all of its restaurant brands, the company plans to shut down 68 underperforming corporate-owned stores that collectively lost more than $10 million over the past year.
While Papa Murphy’s accounts for most of the store closures by number, company executives say other brands are responsible for a larger share of the financial losses.
The shutdown won’t happen overnight
If you are a regular Papa Murphy’s customer, don’t panic just yet. The company says the closures will happen gradually over the next six to nine months.
According to executives, they’re intentionally moving slowly so they can support employees during the transition, work with landlords, and handle supply chain changes to avoid creating even more disruption.
Some locations will close sooner than others, with the first wave already scheduled to begin.
Source: Fox Business