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FOREST LAKE TIMES THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 2025 | 13
Papa John’ s ownership changed to couple
AMY DOEUN Contributing writer
John and June Christopherson bought the Forest Lake Papa John’ s franchise in September.
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In September, June and John Christopherson re-opened the Forest Lake Papa John’ s after six years as the owner of Papa John’ s in Stillwater. The business was a joint venture between the couple, now empty nesters, as they were deciding what business they wanted to pursue owning.
“ Well, my husband’ s name is John,” June laughed, adding that helped make their decision.
John had Papa John’ s pizza in college and loved it, but growing up in western Wisconsin, he said“ there were no locations here, so I guess I just wanted one.”
Qualifying financially for the franchise was a big process.
“ Not everyone has the ability to do it, but we were fortunate that we qualified,” June said.
When the second location in Forest Lake came up for sale, they decided to take the opportunity to expand. They noted it is important to them that they are active in the community, with John saying they are“ very community involved.”
June added:“ Yes, we love community involvement, but [ we are ] also involved with our staff, and we want to make sure they have what they need to grow.”
The two usually split up to spend their time at both of their locations now.
“ We divide and conquer most days,” June said. She is also the HR and payroll person for their company. They work at the stores throughout the day and stay for the dinner rush, then“ we go home and sleep and get up and do it all again.”
“ We live and breathe Papa John’ s,” John said.
When asked their favorite items on the menu June said,“ I am simple, I am a cheese pizza person. I know it’ s simple, but I love them.”
But for a healthier option, June loves the Papa Bowls that are“ keto friendly, just fresh ingredients.”
John said his favorites are“ any of the stuffedcrust pizzas or the wings.”
“ We are simple people.” John said,“ A lot of people see the Papa John’ s brand and think it’ s a big corporation but it is not like that. We are a family business. We are in our stores daily.”
Papa John’ s is located at 843 West Broadway Avenue and is open from 10:30 a. m. to 11 p. m. daily.
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