New York City is Papa John’s fastest growing market, CEO says

New Yorkers are developing a taste for Papa John’s pizza.

The company’s CEO Rob Lynch said Tuesday that the city is its fastest growing market as the coronavirus pandemic pushes more Americans to order pizza from the chain.

“There’s no denying that coronavirus is having a positive impact on our business,” Lynch said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “It’s eliminated a lot of the other options.”

Analysts predict that delivery-based pizza chains like Papa John’s and Domino’s will fare better than other restaurant companies as the pandemic keeps many consumers at home and forced many restaurants to close temporarily.

Papa John’s said earlier on Tuesday that its May same-store sales in North America soared an estimated 33.5{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}, setting the record for the best sales period in its history. In April, the company’s preliminary North American same-store sales spiked 26.9{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}.

Lynch said that the urban areas hardest hit by the pandemic have been its strongest markets, while Papa John’s locations near college campuses have seen sales drop.

Shares of Papa John’s rose more than 6{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} in premarket trading. The stock, which has a market value of $2.56 billion, is up 25{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} so far this year.