EVERETT — Diane Kaelin has spent most of her working career moving pizza, but she likes it, she’s good at it and she sees herself doing it for a good time to come.
Kaelin is the operating partner with owner Kevin Sonneborn of Papa John’s Pizza franchises in Everett, Mill Creek, Lynnwood
, Lake Stevens, Monroe, Marysville and Oak Harbor. As operating partner, Kaelin runs the day-to-day operations of the nine stores from her Everett base at 5129 Evergreen Way. The stores employ 150 people, she said.
After 29 years in the pizza business, Kaelin likes being her own boss as a franchisee. She spent 17 years working for Godfather’s Pizza before she answered an ad placed by the franchise’s investors who sought someone local to run the stores. She started in April 1999.
After Sonneborn’s purchase of the franchise a few years ago, she gained a 10 percent ownership interest in the operation.
“I like being my own boss as a franchisee,” she said. “I think I’ve been more successful when I get to call the shots.”
Kaelin clearly believes in Papa John’s business philosophy, which may reflect on her own management style. “People are a priority, always. Inspect what you expect,” she said.
She says she tries to be fair, firm and consistent with the employees — “maybe a little too firm sometimes, some of them might think” — and treats the stores’ general managers as business partners to instill them with a sense of ownership.
“I like working with all the people, helping develop the managers to reach their goals and dreams,” she said.
Kaelin’s devotion to her crew paid off this year when she and Sonneborn were named Papa John’s western franchise of the year for 2010 before winning the company’s national franchise award.
The nomination caught her by surprise, she said.
Papa John’s corporate franchise business director made the nominations based on objective data, including service times to customers. Papa John’s emphasizes speed of service, and Kaelin said her stores’ delivery times are among the quickest in the entire chain.
“We quote customers 40 minutes,” she said. “Our average this year is 32 minutes.”
Last year also saw Kaelin get elected as one of 18 national Papa John’s franchise council advisers serving a two-year term. She says she likes the council’s work so much that she’s planning to run for re-election when her term expires.
“I had a good year in 2010,” she said.
This year is looking pretty good for Kaelin, too. Her stores’ finances are better than 2010, despite the squeeze of commodity price increases on pizza ingredients, she said.
“We’re almost recession-proof,” she said. “We can hang in there.”
And earlier this year, she was one of just 40 Papa John’s franchisees from across the country — and the only woman — invited by company founder John Schnatter to his 44,000-square-foot home in Louisville, Ky., to talk shop for a day.
In her spare time, Kaelin serves as vice president of the Swiss Colony hall south of Monroe, makes wine at home and serves as the treasurer of her homeowner’s association in Bothell.
Thanks to her years in the pizza business, Kaelin knows how to keep the Papa John’s operation running well.
“I’ve done every job, even deliveries,” she said. “If we get behind on orders, they have to get out.”
Kaelin really likes what she does. She likes solving challenges with the staff and outsmarting the competition.
“I’m pretty happy doing this for many years to come,” Kaelin said. “Every day is changing. You have to adapt to those changes.”
Kurt Batdorf: 425-339-3102, kbatdorf@scbj.com.
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