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):
                                January 6, 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 January 6, 2000, Papa John's International, Inc. announced that its Board of
Directors has approved an increase to $100 million in the amount of the
company's common stock which may be repurchased from time to time through
December 31, 2000.  The company also announced that it had nearly completed the
initial $50 million in common stock repurchases authorized by its Board on
December 9, 1999.  This summary of the attached press release is qualified in
its entirety by the complete text of such document, a copy of which is attached
hereto as Exhibit 99.1.

Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits
(c)  Exhibits 99.1 Press Release dated January 6, 2000.


                                   SIGNATURES

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

                        PAPA JOHN'S INTERNATIONAL, INC.
                        -------------------------------

                                 (Registrant)

Date:  January 10, 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 January 6, 2000

EX-99.1

                                 Exhibit 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- ---------------------

For more information, contact:

Dru Milby
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
Papa John's International, Inc.
(502) 261-4942

                          Papa John's Increases Stock
                   Repurchase Authorization to $100 Million

     Louisville, KY (January 6, 2000) - Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:
PZZA) today announced that its Board of Directors has approved an increase to
$100 million in the amount of the company's common stock which may be
repurchased from time to time through December 31, 2000.  The authorization
includes both open market purchases as well as private transactions.

     The company announced that it had nearly completed the initial $50 million
in common stock repurchases authorized by its Board on December 9, 1999.   After
such repurchases, the company currently has approximately 29.3 million shares of
common stock outstanding on a fully diluted basis.

     "We continue to believe that investing in the company's common stock at
current prices represents an attractive use of capital," said John Schnatter,
Papa John's Founder and Chief Executive Officer. "The company's strong balance
sheet and operating cash flow allow us to continue our stock buyback program
while maintaining our future growth plans."

    At January 5, 2000, there were 2,276 Papa John's restaurants (590 company-
owned and 1,686 franchised) operating in 47 states and five international
markets.  Papa John's also owns or franchises 206 Perfect Pizza restaurants (15
company-owned and 191 franchised) in the United Kingdom.  For more information
about the company, visit Papa John's at www.papajohns.com.