Papa Johns, Bad Pizza and a 1971 Camaro
In 1971, “Papa” John Schnatter acquired a gorgeous bumblebee-striped 1971 & 1/2 Chevrolet Camaro – only to sell it off for the sake of his pizza tavern in 1983. Imagine that decision – bad pizza (come on folks, it’s barely edible!) or a Chevy Camaro – a man will go to unthinkable lengths to save a dream. Last week, auto news blog Jalopnik helped reunite Papa with his original Camaro:
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According to the site: “With the $2,800 he received for the Camaro he was able to save the family business and launch Papa John’s, a business that now numbers at more than 3,000 pizzerias in 26 countries with a market value of three-quarters of a billion dollars. He had a lot, but Papa John still missed that Camaro. So Schnatter started looking for it.” Papa first offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the return of his Camaro, assuming it was still in one piece – he then upped it to $250,000. Rumors of similar Camaro’s crossed state lines, as did the original ride.
Eventually the car was tracked down in Kentucky, converted into a drag strip racer. Decades later, Papa is now together with his beloved Chevy again – and a limited franchise offer allows fellow Camaro drivers one free pizza…I think I’ll take a free Camaro instead.
I’ll take the camaro too!
Nov 25th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
[...] while back, crappy pizza tycoon Papa John was reunited with his long lost 1971 & 1/2 Camaro thanks to the diligence of car fans and the promise of enough cash to open your own franchise. Now, [...]