There’s a new pizza in town — Papa John’s. The chain, which has more than 2,400 locations throughout the country, has set up shop at South Park Village, 1736 Village Lane S.E., in Port Orchard.

The franchise is owned by Great Western Dining, which intends to open five Papa John’s Delivery and Carry Out Pizza locations on the Kitsap Peninsula according to Ed Taliaferro, Vice President. Great Western Dining also owns the Red Robin restaurant in Silverdale, and has acquired the rights to open 35 Papa John’s in Kitsap and King counties. It currently has 10 facilities in operation.

The new Papa John’s employs 28 “team members” and operates Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 a.m.

“The success of Papa John’s may speak for itself, but the quality of this product is second to none with fresh dough, hand-tossed crust, vine-ripened tomato sauce, special garlic dipping sauce and a Pepperoncini pepper,” said Taliaferro. “Our better ingredients result in better pizza. People enjoy the product and appreciate our commitment to have it delivered within 30 minutes.”

Free delivery is available from the Port Orchard location east of Highway 16 to the Southworth Ferry; south to Bielmeier Road — including the Long Lake area, and north to the intersection of Highway 16 and Tremont St. Telephone orders for carry out are also available.

“The training we provide our team members focuses on excellent food quality and guest service,” commented General Manager, Matt Edwards. “Our goal is to answer the phone within three rings, spend one minute taking the order, then prepare the pizza and have it delivered in a heated hot bag all within 30 minutes.”

Papa John’s joins a number of established pizza delivery chains, including Godfather’s, Domino’s, Pizza Hut and Pizza Time in vying for the South Kitsap pizza delivery buck. However, it has by far the largest delivery area of any of its competitors. Most for instance, don’t serve the Manchester and Long Lake areas or charge extra with no time guarantee to go there. Papa John’s guaranteed delivery area extends almost 10 miles farther.

Founded in 1981, Great Western Dining is a privately owned operator of restaurants in Western Washington, employing 1,700, with $55 million in annual sales. It owns and operates 11 Red Robin Restaurants; 10 Papa John’s and two full service restaurants, the Copper Sky Wood Fire Grill and Bar near Northgate in Seattle, and Winner’s American Grill near Southcenter in Tukwila.

For more information about Papa John’s visit www.papajohns.com. For pizza delivery or carry out in the South Kitsap area, call (360) 769-9500.