A Pakistan-American franchisee has joined a Qatari-backed investor group's bid to buy out the US-based Papa John's Pizza restaurants chain. Nadeem Bajwa started his part-time job in 1991 as a pizza delivery driver for Papa John's while attending college in Indiana. He has since risen to become the largest franchisee with nearly 300 restaurants across the United States. Bajwa's backing could help Irth, which is also backed by Brookfield Asset Management, in its $47 a share pursuit of the pizza chain. Papa John's has been reviewing Irth's offer, though sources told Reuters there is no guarantee a deal gets done.

Papa John's Largest Franchisee Nadeem Bajwa

Bajwa’s journey wasn’t easy. In his early twenties, he was the first in his family to move to the United States, where he encountered many challenges upon arrival. “Coming to the U.S., actually, that was my first flight [ever.] I’d never flown before,” Bajwa told CNBC News. “Just getting into the plane, it was a full flight coming here by myself, [there was] a lot of anxiety ... but I was determined to make it.”

Back in 2020, Pakistani reporter Ahmad Noorani alleged that "(T)he growth of the Bajwa family’s business empire in the United States and later in Pakistan directly matches the rise in power of retired general Asim Saleem Bajwa, who is now chairman of the country’s massive China-financed infrastructure project and a special assistant to the prime minister". “Out of total 99 companies, 66 are main companies, 33 companies are branch companies of some of the main companies, while five companies are dead now,” Ahmad Noorani alleged, adding that the businesses of the Bajwa family have been put under the umbrella called Bajco Group. 

Eager to allege corruption, Noorani obviously ignored many well-known Pakistani immigrant success stories in US restaurant franchise business while jumping to the conclusion that Nadeem Bajwa's success must be built on his brother's alleged corruption in Pakistan. Noorani does not offer any evidence to back up his allegations.

Bajwa's success as a fast food franchisee is not unique. Other Pakistani-American entrepreneurs own and operate some of the largest fast-food franchises in the United States, managing thousands of locations for major brands like Popeyes, Burger King, and Papa John's. Among the most prominent Pakistani-American franchisees is Shoukat Dhanani (Dhanani Group).  Based in Sugar Land, Texas, the Dhanani family runs one of the largest private businesses in the U.S. They are the largest franchisees of Popeyes and a massive Burger King operator, building an empire that generates well over a billion dollars in revenue.

Tabassum Mumtaz, an NED University alumnus, is a another successful Pakistani-American fast-food franchisees. He began his career as a cook for Long John Silver’s,  eventually rising to own the entire chain and becoming a mega-franchisee of A&W, KFC, and Taco Bell under Ampex Brands, running a restaurant portfolio generating over a billion dollars in annual revenue.

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