Why Papa Johns Pizza Always Comes With That Little Pepper

Papa Johns may be known for a lot of things — some good, and others less so — but the chain's pizza is immediately recognizable for the two iconic complementary sides that come in every box: a garlic dipping sauce some would pay to bathe in, and a greenish-yellow pepperoncino pepper. Why the garlic dipping sauce is there is pretty self-explanatory. It's undeniably delicious, and if you say it's not, you're lying (luckily, you can make your own copycat version of the Papa Johns sauce at home).

The presence of the pepperoncino, on the other hand, is slightly more mysterious. While the subtly spicy Italian peppers make a fabulous crunchy chicken salad upgrade and add a lovely briny pop to pasta dishes, they're not exactly a traditional pizza accompaniment. Luckily, there is a clear explanation for curious pizza-eaters. 

As legend has it, Papa Johns' controversial founder, John Schnatter, copied the idea from Rocky's Sub Pub in Jeffersonville, Indiana, where he worked as a dishwasher and pizza cook during high school. Apparently, the Italian-American tavern always served its pizzas with a pepperoncino pepper or two, much to the delight of customers. In a 2017 interview with Thrillist, Papa Johns Chief Ingredient Officer Sean Muldoon explained that Schnatter noticed how people went crazy for the pepper, and when he started his own pizza chain, he decided to adopt the practice for himself.

A lot has changed at Papa Johns since John Schnatter sold the first pepperoncino-garnished pizza box in 1984. The chain has become a staple of children's birthday parties and college club meetings across America, expanded to operate thousands of locations across the globe, and even trimmed the apostrophe from its name in an attempt to distance itself from its controversial founder (no, it's not the Mandela effect — it was, in fact, known as Papa John's). However, those tangy little peppers have remained stubbornly consistent.

What you do with the pepperoncino in a Papa Johns pizza box is something of a culinary personality test. Some eat it whole as a palate cleanser or sprinkle the spicy juice on their pizza for a much-needed flavor boost, while others simply chuck it in the trash. Personally, I'm in favor of chopping or tearing it up and scattering it across the pie for a spicy contrast to Papa Johns' overly sweet pizza sauce. But no matter how you slice it, if all this pizza talk has you craving a good pie, check out our ranking of the best and worst chain pizza restaurants.