What cities are losing their Papa Murphy's locations, and will the closures affect the brand's take-and-bake pizza model nationwide?

Papa Murphy's has been experiencing store closures in various markets across the United States, with some regions hit harder than others. The brand has seen significant pullbacks in certain metropolitan areas and smaller markets where franchisee profitability became difficult to sustain. Cities and regions that have reported notable losses of Papa Murphy's locations include parts of the Pacific Northwest, where the chain originally grew its roots, as well as various markets in the Midwest and Southeast. Some specific urban and suburban areas in states like California, Texas, and the Carolinas have seen individual franchise locations close, often due to franchisees struggling with rising ingredient costs, labor expenses, and competition from delivery-focused pizza chains that have expanded aggressively in recent years. The closures are tied in part to broader financial difficulties the company has faced since being acquired by MTY Food Group in 2019. MTY, a Canadian company, took on Papa Murphy's with the intention of stabilizing and growing the brand, but the chain has continued to shed locations. At its peak, Papa Murphy's operated over 1,500 locations across the United States and Canada, making it one of the largest pizza chains in North America by store count. That number has declined considerably, and the trajectory of closures has raised questions about the long-term viability of the franchise system in certain geographic pockets. Franchisees in competitive urban markets have found it particularly difficult to maintain margins when they cannot rely on delivery revenue the way traditional pizza chains can. The take-and-bake model itself is both Papa Murphy's greatest differentiator and one of its structural challenges. Because the company sells uncooked pizzas that customers take home and bake themselves, it does not need commercial ovens in its stores, which keeps overhead lower. However, this model also means the brand cannot participate in the booming third-party delivery economy in the same way that Domino's, Pizza Hut, or Little Caesars can. Customers ordering through DoorDash or Uber Eats generally want a hot, ready pizza delivered to their door, not a raw pizza they still have to cook. This limitation has made it harder for Papa Murphy's to capture impulse orders and convenience-driven customers who have increasingly shifted toward delivery. The company has experimented with partnerships and workarounds, but the fundamental nature of the product creates a ceiling on how competitive it can be in that space. Despite the closures, Papa Murphy's still maintains a substantial presence in many markets, particularly in suburban and rural areas where the value proposition of a fresh, customizable, take-and-bake pizza resonates strongly with families. The brand tends to perform better in communities where customers are more likely to plan their meals in advance and where the price point relative to a fully cooked delivered pizza is a meaningful consideration. In those markets, franchisees have been able to sustain profitable operations, and the brand continues to attract loyal customers who appreciate the freshness and the ability to customize their order before baking it at home. The closures, while real and significant, have not uniformly affected every region, and some markets remain relatively stable. Whether the closures will fundamentally alter the take-and-bake model nationwide is an open question. MTY Food Group has signaled its commitment to the brand, and Papa Murphy's leadership has discussed strategies for modernizing the concept and finding ways to remain relevant in a changing pizza landscape. Some of those strategies include improving digital ordering, enhancing loyalty programs, and exploring ways to make the product more accessible to customers who might not have previously considered the take-and-bake format. The brand's survival likely depends on its ability to double down on the markets where it performs well while finding creative solutions to the delivery problem that has hampered growth elsewhere. The take-and-bake model is not going away, but it may become increasingly concentrated in the suburban and regional markets where it has always had its strongest foothold, rather than expanding into dense urban environments where the competition and consumer expectations make it a harder sell.