8-K

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 8-K

                       Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
                       the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

                Date of report (Date of earliest event reported):
                                December 22, 2000

                         PAPA JOHN'S INTERNATIONAL, INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 DELAWARE                                    61-1203323
 (State or other jurisdiction of             (I.R.S. Employer identification
 incorporation or organization)              number)


                           2002 PAPA JOHN'S BOULEVARD
                         LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY 40299-2334
                    (Address of principal executive offices)

                                 (502) 261-7272
              (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS

On December 22, 2000, Papa John's International, Inc. announced that President
and Vice Chairman Blaine Hurst will leave the company and its Board of Directors
at the end of January 2001 to accept a position with software startup eMac
Digital LLC. Papa John's Founder, Chairman and CEO John Schnatter will assume
the duties of President until a successor is named.


ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS

(c) Exhibit 99.1 Press Release dated December 22, 2000.



                                   SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

                         PAPA JOHN'S INTERNATIONAL, INC.
                         -------------------------------
                                  (Registrant)

Date:    December 22, 2000            /s/ E. Drucilla Milby
                                      ---------------------
                                      E. Drucilla Milby
                                      Senior Vice President,
                                      Chief Financial Officer
                                      and Treasurer


                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

EXHIBIT NO.

99.1     Press Release dated December 22, 2000

EX-99.1

                                  EXHIBIT 99.1
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- ---------------------

                      BLAINE HURST TO LEAVE PAPA JOHN'S FOR
                          POSITION AT SOFTWARE STARTUP

         Louisville, Kentucky (December 22, 2000) - Papa John's International
(Nasdaq: PZZA) today announced that President and Vice Chairman Blaine Hurst
will leave the company and its Board of Directors at the end of January 2001 to
accept a position with software startup eMac Digital LLC. Papa John's Founder,
Chairman and CEO John Schnatter will assume the duties of President until a
successor is named.

Hurst started with Papa John's in 1995 as Vice President of Information
Services, moving on to roles as Chief Information Officer, Executive Vice
President and most recently, President and Vice Chairman. During Hurst's tenure
with the company, Papa John's grew from 632 restaurants to nearly 2,800
restaurants operating in 49 states and 10 countries.

"I'm thankful for the opportunity to have played a part in Papa John's growth
over the last six years," Hurst said. "Papa John's is a great concept with a
very strong leadership team. Yet, I'm also excited to get back into the
technology field."

"We appreciate Blaine's leadership and wish him the best of luck with this new
opportunity," Schnatter said.

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, as of December 21, 2000 Papa John's had
2,562 restaurants (627 company-owned and 1,935 franchised) operating in 49
states and 10 international markets. Papa John's also owns or operates an
additional 205 Perfect Pizza restaurants (7 company-owned and 198 franchised) in
the United Kingdom. For more information about the company, please visit
www.papajohns.com.