Ken White and partner Richard Garland opened their first Papa’s Pizza To-Go in McCaysville, Georgia in January of 1986 (population 1,065). The franchise was founded with a minimal investment. The McCaysville Store was a modular unit set up on a vacant lot for a trial run. As customers lined up to purchase pizza, it quickly became apparent that, not only were they running out of food, but their idea had a lot of promise. “Small Town USA” became the niche for Papa’s Pizza To-Go.White chose “Small Town USA” as the niche for Papa’s Pizza To-Go because he knows the “ins and outs” of small towns. He grew up in Plainview, Texas where his parents and grandparents ran a grocery business. That experience familiarized him with the workings of retail business. A few years after serving in the United States Army, White worked in the retail industry for fifteen years and then began his restaurant career by purchasing a bakery in Macon, Georgia and three fast food restaurants in Atlanta, Georgia and Nashville, Tennessee. White took his experience in the restaurant business and combined it with his small town background and with Richard Garland, a successful owner/manufacturer of signs and modular barbecue units. Together they founded Papa’s Pizza To-Go.
