 Featured Business
Papa Murphy’s Pizza Cedar Mill
By Virginia Bruce
If you consider pizza to be a necessary evil, something quick to feed yourself or your family during a busy day, the food at Papa Murphy’s might surprise you! This locally-owned company makes its “take ‘n’ bake” food from simple, real, and mostly fresh ingredients that can actually be pretty healthy eating, and tasty too!
Doug Storey opened a Papa Aldo’s pizza shop in the “triangle” shopping center way back in October 1993. He had been working as an insurance underwriter for Safeco after he left college, but he had the heart of an entrepreneur and seized the opportunity.
Mike Phillips started the Papa Aldo’s chain in Hillsboro in 1981. It eventually grew to 86 stores. In 1995 the chain merged with Murphy’s Pizza, which started in Petaluma, California, and the name was changed to Papa Murphy’s. Murphy’s founder Robert Graham had pioneered the “take ‘n’ bake” concept by developing a pizza dough that would bake up crusty and delicious at 425°, a temperature that home ovens can achieve. Until then, pizza was mainly a restaurant item or available pre-baked for takeout or delivery, and it often got soggy and cold by the time a customer got it home.
 Papa Murphy’s is now the fifth-largest pizza company in the United States, with over 1,350 stores in 38 states. They are expanding world-wide, and are consistently rated at the top of fast-food restaurant and pizza chain competitions.
Because Papa Murphy's stores don’t cook any of their products, they save on seating space as well as space for ovens and the cost of heating. In addition, with ingredients that arrive fresh and are used immediately, stores can use smaller refrigerators and require less storage space. And they don’t need licenses for cooking. Since the pizzas are uncooked, they are considered groceries and therefore eligible for food stamps, which accounts for as much as 15% of sales in some stores.
 In 1999 Storey moved the store to its current location, in the corner of the center at the northwest corner of Murray and Saltzman. They’ll be celebrating 20 years of serving pizza to Cedar Mill this fall!
Storey currently owns two other stores, one in Wilsonville, where he lives with his wife and two daughters, and one in Newberg. He is very active in the management of all of them, and visits each location almost daily. “You have to inspect what you expect,” he says.
The chain actually limits the number of stores any one franchisee can own, because they want hands-on management to ensure quality. A new franchisee has to prove their ability with the first store, and only after that are they allowed to open or purchase more locations.
 Storey says, “I’ve always been involved at the corporate level of Papa Murphy’s International, because the original corporate offices were in Portland, and are now in Vancouver, Washington. I was the Portland region Advertising Coop President from 2001 to 2011, and have been an active mentor for new franchisees coming into the Papa Murphy’s system for the first time.”
Employees arrive at 8 am each day to begin prepping ingredients. Dough is mixed daily using a proprietary mix of dry “Pizza Blends” ingredients that is manufactured in Portland. It is the most labor-intensive part of the operation. Finished dough is measured into portions for the various sizes of pizza, formed into balls and put to rise in a temperature controlled proofer. The next day, the proofed dough is rolled through a press and placed on specially-developed paper trays that can be baked. These prepared rounds of dough are wrapped and stacked on racks, ready for topping.
Tomato sauce is specially canned for the chain once a year, when the tomatoes are ripe. Meats are pre-cooked and cut, but are delivered fresh on a regular schedule from suppliers.
All the fresh vegetables—spinach, zucchini, peppers, green and mixed onions, mushrooms and tomatoes—are purchased from local produce company Apple Foods. They are processed each morning for the day’s sales. Cheese is shredded from whole-milk mozzarella blocks. Everything is stored in containers in the walk-in fridge for quick access when the afternoon rush begins. All standard procedures are written and posted on the walls of the back room.
 “It’s tedious, repetitive work,” Storey admits. “But it has to be done carefully every time. I don’t mind if the employees joke around a little in the back room, because having some fun makes the work easier.”
The store opens at 11 am, but prep continues until about 2 pm. At that point, they’re “rush-ready.” The busiest time for the Cedar Mill location is from 3-7 pm.
“As soon as the buzzer goes off to indicate a customer has come through the door, the employee out front is ‘on stage,’” Storey says. Then they know that they have to be paying attention to customer service.
The employees always seem cheerful and engaged. This is different than most fast-food places and it gives the customer the feeling that they care about the food they are preparing. It’s no accident. “I love hiring kids,” he says, “because they’re fresh and full of energy, and you can train them.” Most of the 12-25 employees he has (depending on the season) are part-time.
 “My current managers, Steven Newberry and Todd Dallimore, are always ready to do the right thing for the customer with a smile. It is something that is mandatory if you are going to work for my organization,” Storey says. Managers and other full-time employees get good benefits including health care, a 401K plan, and paid vacations. Newberry started at the Cedar Mill location over nine years ago. He worked at the Wilsonville store for a while and recently returned to Cedar Mill when long-time manager Matt Purcell left to go back to college.
Customers are free to customize their order. “We are known for making it just the way you want, so naturally it feels like they are all customized. ‘We Can Do That!’ was a marketing line we used, so our customers like that they can get their order the way they want,” says Storey. Some people want their cheese or other ingredients “on the side,” so they can accommodate the varying preferences of family members. Half-and-half or even thirds of different topping combinations are not a problem.
 They have recently introduced the “Mini Murph” pizza kit for kids. You take home a small crust with the toppings in containers for the kids to assemble at home.
In addition to the classic combinations of Pepperoni and Hawaiian pizzas, Papa Murphy’s has a line of Signature and Gourmet pizzas including Gourmet Chicken Garlic and Chicken Bacon Ranch. And a very popular item in Cedar Mill is the thin Crust deLITE® pizza, with a specially-developed thin crust and lighter toppings for a lower-calorie and lower-fat pizza. They also have stuffed pizzas (the toppings sandwiched inside two crusts) and calzone with the dough folded over the toppings.
Salads, cookie dough ready to bake at home, and dessert pizzas are also available, along with large bottles of pop.
Another recently-introduced option is online ordering. You can create your pizza and pay for it on the Papa Murphy’s website. Storey says, “We started the online ordering in November last year. Its use is building—we normally see about 3% of our transactions online. It’s really great because once you place your order and set the time you want to get it, you just have to show up and we have a special pick-up area so you don’t have to wait in line.”
 Papamurphys.com also has a full list of ingredients for all the components, and a nutrition information chart, along with some history about the company, coupons, and information about franchise opportunities.
Doug Storey is still enthusiastic about his business and the company after 20 years. “Our quality will never go down,” he says. “We have raised our prices a little over the years, but that’s because the ingredients are more expensive. But we never compromise on quality. That hasn’t changed in 20 years.” Pizzas are still quite affordable, especially if you use the readily-available coupons.
Even during the evening rush, you rarely have to wait more than ten minutes from order to walking out the door with your food. Visit the shop at 12595 NW Cornell, or call them at 503-672-7272 to order ahead, or order online at papamurphys.com. They are open from 11 am to 9 pm weekdays, and from 11 am to 10 pm on Friday and Saturday.
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