Papa Murphy’s Holdings, Inc., parent of Papa Murphy’s take-and-bake pizza chain, is expanding at its corporate headquarters in Vancouver.
The company said Wednesday it has signed a new 10-year lease agreement with Clark Center LLC and that it will expand its presence at its existing headquarters, at 8000 N.E. Parkway Drive, by about 10 percent.
The company now occupies the entire third floor of the building, and part of the second and first floors. As part of the lease renewal, the company will get full use of the third and second floors, and partial use of the building’s first floor.
A Papa Murphy’s spokeswoman did not immediately have details about the square footage involved in the expansion and whether more jobs are in the offing. In a news release, the company said it expects to occupy the new space by January 2016.
“This lease renewal and expansion of our footprint illustrates our long-term commitment to growing and strengthening our brand while also contributing to the economic growth of Vancouver and the state of Washington,” Ken Calwell, president and CEO of Papa Murphy’s, said in the company’s news release.
As of March 16, Papa Murphy’s had 1,718 employees, including 260 salaried employees and 1,458 hourly employees, according to an annual report filed by the company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Regulatory filings show the company had 1,476 stores as of March 30 — 1,338 franchise stores and 108 corporate-owned stores across 38 states, plus 30 franchise stores in Canada and the United Arab Emirates.
The company recorded a first-quarter profit of $2.6 million. That compares with a profit of $819,000 in the same January-to-March period in 2014. Meanwhile, the company posted total revenue of $29.16 million in the three months ending March 30. That’s up 16 percent from $25.11 million in the year-ago period.
Papa Murphy’s also experienced an increase of 5.6 percent in domestic comparable store sales. It was the company’s 17th consecutive quarter of comparable store sales growth.
The company’s stock, which trades as FRSH on the Nasdaq exchange, closed down $1.05 Wednesday, at $19.67 per share.
