I love people, and I'm great with people, but I'm not someone to shine the spotlight on me," said Joshua Walters, owner of Papa's Pizza in Mount Joy. "My goal is just to be a good part of this community."

Whether he wants it or not, the spotlight is shining on Walters. He's making a difference in the lives of his employees, and both his staff and customers have noticed.

"I try to be a good mentor," he said, noting that he often employs high school students. "I didn't have a dad growing up, so a lot of the people I met in the kitchens I worked in were very important to me."

Walters has been the owner of the pizza shop since 2022, but his career in the industry had a much less auspicious beginning.

"I grew up in Boiling Springs, and I started working in a restaurant as a dishwasher when I was 14," said the now-36-year-old. "I met this family of Italians, and we became friends."

Over the years, Walters moved up the ladder, working as a cook by the time he was 18.

He graduated from Boiling Springs High School and the Pennsylvania College of Technology, and he worked at a variety of pizza shops in central Pennsylvania before the opportunity to come to Mount Joy arose.

Although he originally planned to run Papa's Pizza with a partner, he's now a one-man operation, but he doesn't consider himself alone. His staff members are a team, he said, and they are like family to him.

"I believe in having a conversation with my employees," he said simply. "If someone is stressed out about something, I say, 'Tell me about it.' They'll say, 'No, you're the boss,' but I'm not that guy. If you're stressed out, then I'm stressed out, and I don't want that. We have to work as a team."

Teamwork is especially important in the restaurant world, Walters noted. "I don't care who you are, if your employees are miserable, it's not going to work," he said. "You have to have open communication. If I'm a dictator here, this place is never going to be what I want it to be."

Walters is focused on not only supporting his employees, but also taking an active role in the community.

He often supplies pizzas at cost to schools or community organizations, and he gave out free slices of pizza during trick or treat this past fall.

At Papa's Pizza, Walters has expanded the menu to include dishes not found at a typical pizza place, such as the Sensai pizza, covered in pepperoni, mozzarella and ricotta cheese, and topped with fresh basil and a drizzle of hot honey.

Asked what he loves about running his own business, Walters laughed. "Do I love it?" he said. "It's a labor of love. What's challenging about running a business? Everything. But I do it because I want to keep improving, keep providing opportunities for my employees. Every time a customer walks out the door, I want to hear how it was. I always want to keep doing better."