Papa John Shells Out Quarter Mill To Re-Buy Old Car
Before John Schnatter founded Papa John's pizza, he was a struggling businessman. Back in 1983 he was reduced to selling his black and gold 1971 Chevy Camaro Z28 for $2,800 to keep his dad's bar afloat and to start Papa John's.
Despite all the success and riches, Schnatter still wanted his rosebud back. So he put a $250,000 bounty on the headlights of the beloved Camaro. A Kentucky man came forward with the car, and Schattner made him rich, the AP reports:
"When I first saw it I still wanted to look it over to make sure it was the car even though I knew it," Schnatter told The Associated Press. "That kind of hit me emotionally. I was kind of numb."
The original buyers of Schnatter's car heard about the search when he appeared in a TV interview before an NFL game this month. An online search led them to the car blog Jalopnik, which has followed the search and tipped off Papa John's.
When my own multinational pizza chain, Phantastic Phil's, comes into power, I'll be paying big bucks to reassemble the He-Man action figure collection my mom so cruelly scattered at a yard sale while I was in college.
Papa John's founder finds his beloved 1971 Camaro [USA Today via AP]
(Photo: phototaker)
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Comments:
Bobo!
@Vandelay Import Export: As far as "fast food" national pizza goes, Papa Johns is probably one of the best. It's definitely my favorite, although I know everyone has different tastes
Hey, get the mullets out, get the Camaro off the cinder blocks, and get your free pizza today!
@Vandelay Import Export: Real pizza = make it your damn self. Papa Johns = pretty damn good for what it is.
@Vandelay Import Export: Could be worse, at least they don't have those gawd awful Pizza Mia sludge that The Hut pushes.
Man, I'm looking for the billionare that used to own a 91 Plymouth...cha ching!
I believe he is also giving out free pizza today to anyone who pulls up in a camaro
I wish I had a spare quarter million to rebuy the first car I ever had, an old FORD Tempo.
Ahh, the memories that were made in that car.
@Vandelay Import Export: Papa John's is pretty good, in my opinion, one of the best for the big chains. Way better than Domino's.
When my fantastic BBQ chain, The Swollen Pig goes national, I'm finding my old '88 Saab 900s.
You missed the important part of the story for Consumerist readers:
In honor of the reunion, Papa John's planned to offer all Camaro owners a free pizza at stores on Wednesday.
Which is TODAY!
Also, he really paid $275k, since he paid the original buyer who helped track down the current owner a $25k finders fee.
Sniff It's just like that episode of Home Improvement...
@Vandelay Import Export: Your name and icon rock, and earned you a follow. It's that good. SAY VANDALAY! SAY VANDALAY!!!
Reminds me of the story of the Better Off Dead Camaro. (WARNING, SOUND with no apparent way to turn it off. Stupid web designer). Website here -> [betteroffdeadcamaro.com]
Huh. Maybe now he can have the pizza boxes reprinted which feature himself with a replica Camaro.
And he immediately traded it in to Cash for Clunkers for 4 grand.
If she got rid of Man-E-Faces, that's grounds for a family feud.
@larrymac: Wow. That guy is...dedicated to that Camaro. Did he have a full-time job while on his obsessive hunt for the car?!
@hewhoroams: IN other news, NJ Papa John's Restaurants ran out of pizza within one hour of opening today. Witness say the the cloud of Drakkor Noir could be smelled for miles. Papa John's has commented that next month's IRoc giveaway will be cancelled.
@Vandelay Import Export: Living in Bay Ridge Brooklyn it is a sin to order box pizza like Papa Johns or Domino's (I don't even think they are in my hood) however when I lived on Long Island and Prospect Heights BK their pizza was always the bomb!
Couldn't be an eleanor. I must admit...guys treat their cars better than they treat their woman.
I'm incredibly happy that this guy found his beloved ride. I'm a regular customer of this chain and a car guy at heart.
Wish my family still had our Z28 today.
@larrymac: It's a very influential movie along with "One Hot Summer"; it's the Savage Steve Holland dualogy!
@itiswhatitis: When we moved, we asked some friends where the best pizza was, and the first two answers were, "well there's a Dominos, and a Papa Johns." And then there was silence, and we asked, "where are the real pizza places?"
@CyGuy: Here is the info on getting your free pizza from [www.papasroadtrip.com]
In celebration of Schnatter finding his Camaro, Papa John's will offer a free large, one-topping pizza on Wednesday, August 26, 2009, to Camaro owners. To redeem, Camaro owners must arrive at their nearby Papa John's restaurant in their Camaro to order and pick up their free pizza. Limit one pizza per Camaro, and one visit per Camaro.
As soon I can convince my mom to start selling her Sicilian pizza, well, then I'll have a few bucks in my pocket (and her's too) & I can find our family's '64 Mustang we had to sell when there were too many kids in the house (you really can't squeeze four boys in the back of one of those).
Oh, one more thing, when he is no longer a bowl game john, then, I might, I repeat, might, consider buying his pizza. Good thing I'm in NYC so I don't have to search very far to find real pizza.
If Papa Johns ever needs a government bailout, they should give him a nice and shiny copper Camaro keychain.
@pecan 3.14159265: It took my wife and I a year to find Rome's Pizza here in San Antonio. A year! Wasted on Dominos!
@ucdcsteve: I believe family feuds may only be instigated with the destruction or defacement of boba fett.
Perfect example of more money than sense OR of the dollar value of one guy's nostalgia (he's definitely car crazy in the Meguire's sense). Thread-specifics aside, "Bitchin' Camaro" by the Dead Milkmen was on the soundtrack (cassette mixtape) of my high-school-years.
@pb5000: Yeah, it's not better than the pizza you can get from that little hole in the wall place run by a guy and his wife whose last name ends in a vowel but for chain pizza it's pretty darn good.
Papa Johns easily ranks as some of the worst pizza I've ever had. It's functionally the same as Dominoes, but it costs twice as much. When they finally opened a Papa Johns around me, I was pretty excited to try it ... only to be let down by how crappy it was.
But then again, we've got pizza places on every street block and so I guess if you're stuck between chosing Dominoes, Pizza hut, or Papa Johns, you'd go with Papa John's.
Phil,
Please stick to writing and leave the Pizza making to the pros in Marana at R&R. :)
@GitEmSteveDave_SameGreatTaste!: Ewww Drakkor Noir? Is that what that stench is all over NJ? I think I may be reconsidering my relocation now.
@CyGuy: I think there are going to be a lot of people heading out during lunch to test drive a Camaro and take it by a Papa Johns.
@pecan 3.14159265: There is a pizzeria on every other block in my neighborhood. I don't know if you are familiar with Bay Ridge but it is a large Italian American community (Saturday Night Fever took place there).
@nstonep: If Papa John's is able to create the only pizza that tastes nasty cold, he can screw up that Camaro.
There was a Married... With Children episode that this reminded me of where some rich Japanese business men collected junk American cars and, of course, wanted to buy Al's Dodge.
I would kill to have a Papa John's close to us. The town we live in has 1 good pizza place, a Pizza Hut, a Domino's, and a couple little one-off kinds of places that aren't that good.
Domino's is the only one that will deliver to us out in the boonies. And granted that we're far too lazy...I mean busy...to drive into town and pick up pizza from the good place, we pretty much get saddled with Domino's. sigh.
first car: '97 Toyota Avalon. Fate: total loss.
Second car: '00 Honda Accord. Fate: POS. sold.
Third car: '01 Toyota Camry. Fate: sitting in garage.
I kind of miss the first car, second was such a piece of work... but honestly, i couldn't care less what i'm driving, as long as it has AC and is functional.
He sold it for $2800 and bought it back for $250,000? This is why the world needs payday loans. Imagine the money he could have saved!
@Vandelay Import Export: Is this just a lame attempt at a joke? Papa John's is one best chain pizza places around. I love their crust and leftovers reheated in the oven are awesome.
And, kudos to Schattner for sharing the wealth.
@gStein: you had problems with a Honda Accord? I know people still driving around accords from the early 90s, still going strong.
@Vandelay Import Export: I'm not a fan of Papa John's pizza, but it appears enough people are for him to be able to dump $250k on a car sold to anyone else for $1000.
Now if he would only spend $250,000 to develop real pizza.