According to MyDesert.com, “The first round of the 2011 pizza battle has Papa John’s International gaining on its larger rivals.”

“The Louisville-based chain reported last week that sales rose at its established stores by 6.1 percent in the first three months of the year as those of rivals Pizza Hut and Domino’s fell 3 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively, from a year earlier. Domino’s had a tough act to follow in first quarter 2010, when its sales rose about 14 percent on the strength of a reinvented pizza recipe. The big three pizza chains have been competing fiercely to offer the best bargains in a market where new customers are hard to come by.”