Multimedia Reporting (Fred-Musser)

Jim Millikan is preparing for a battle against his friend Ryan Murphy that could last decades -- and push each man’s cunning to the limit. But though their strategies may vary, each will have only one weapon: pizza.

Millikan is the first franchisee of Murphy’s Lawrence-based company, Wheat State Pizza, and he has vowed to beat Murphy at his own game: he is determined to open more Wheat State Pizza shops than his friend. But the competition is an old game for the two men; And regardless of who claims victory, both expect to profit.

“That's all we've done our entire careers in the pizza business,” said Millikan, Wheat State’s former director of operations. “That's what's brought us along; that's what has picked us up. We've always battled each other. There's always been a friendly competition between the two of us.”

Millikan opened a Wheat State Pizza in September in Junction City. And though it is the seventh location to open, it is the first that is not owned by the company. The store is a symbol of Murphy’s new direction for Wheat State Pizza: franchising. And since announcing the opportunity, Murphy said the interest has come pouring in.

“We've had four different franchise groups look at us and they're all still very interested,” Murphy said. “One dropped out -- however, they're wanting to invest in the company.”

Franchisees have to pay $20,000 and pledge 5 percent of sales before taxes for the privilege of opening their first store -- though for subsequent locations the franchise fee falls to $10,000 and the same 5 percent of sales. After factoring in the other costs of opening the restaurant, Murphy estimates the average investment to be about $125,000.

But Millikan said the company is structured to help franchisees turn a profit right away. Sales at his Junction City store broke into the black -- after operating costs and a payment on the 5-year loan that financed the shop -- the very first month.

"We hit the ground running," Millikan said. "We made money the first month, we made money the second month, we made money this month.”

In fact, each of the Wheat State Pizza stores made a profit the first month, Murphy said, except one: the original Lawrence store. In Lawrence, the competition is fierce. There are 18 other restaurants that specialize in selling pizza, and that's not including restaurants like Milton's or Old Chicago.

The fact that Wheat State Pizza was able to survive and eventually thrive in Lawrence is a testament to the size of the niche that the company occupies, Murphy said. It's an example he uses often to tout Wheat State's competitive edge.

“This market is a perfect example of how we compete with major chains. We are sitting in a store right now that's tucked away in a corner, directly across the street from Papa John's and Pizza Hut that are very visible off of 23rd and Louisiana in Lawrence, Kansas,” Murphy said. “I use that as a marketing approach. I'm not afraid to compete with a major competitor. The biggest thing is to have really, really good quality.”

Murphy is expecting many more to jump at the opportunity to open their own Wheat State Pizzas in the next 18 months, but keeping the growth controlled is essential to maintaining quality and preserving the spirit of the company.

“In the next six months, I'd say we'll do at least two, possibly three in this area. After '07 I think we'll start reaching out and trying to tackle other markets like St. Louis, Omaha,” Murphy said.

Meanwhile, Millikan will be hard at work opening stores in Kansas. He's already looking into opening a store in Manhattan next summer, where the Kansas State University market could promise a huge number of sales. But that's just the beginning. To outdo Murphy, he'll be playing catch up. Murphy already takes the credit for opening six locations, including the original, which he opened in Lawrence in 2004.

Luckily, Millikan believes the investment is a shoe-in, and for Wheat State Pizza, there's no telling how far it might go, he said. He is clear about his own goals, however.

“Who knows what the future holds?” Millikan said. “What do I want to do personally? I want to own 20 pizza stores, at least.”

But for Murphy, the decision to franchise his company is about more than just numbers: It’s the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Murphy opened the first store in 2004 with $40,000 of personal loans and credit card debt and a $40,000 loan his brother-in-law took out, using his house as collateral.

Less than three years since opening, Murphy has met his lifelong goal of opening a restaurant -- six times over. So he’s refocused his ambition on developing the quality of the company’s products, and putting Wheat State Pizza in the minds, and bellies, of customers nationwide.

“That's kind of my dream -- is to expand large enough to where people are familiar with the name, familiar with the quality and the taste of it. It's real simple. It doesn't matter how many stores we have,” Murphy said. “The growth will take care of itself if people hear about it and it has a good reputation.”

And in Millikan’s eyes, it is Murphy’s dedication to quality that sets Wheat State Pizza apart from its largest competitors -- even Papa John’s, which occupies a similar niche. But Millikan’s belief in the future of Murphy’s company was strong enough to bring him back to the pizza business after he had retired from the industry. He just couldn’t find a pizza outlet where he felt his talents could be fully utilized -- until Murphy called him in 2005, asking for help with his new business.

And with Millikan and Murphy renewing their old competitive streak, the sauces are flowing like never before. Even if Murphy wins the race and opens stores more quickly, Millikan is glad to be reunited with the business and an indescribable feeling that he had been craving since he left.

“Once you’ve been in the business -- it’s kind of hard to explain -- but you really never leave it. You might take a vacation for a while,” Millikan said. “But once you’ve got that pizza sauce running through your veins, you can’t get it out.”