Papa-John Owner Reunited with his Camaro

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$250,000 purchase!

The story really begins in 1983, when Papa John Schnatter's father was on the verge of closing his tavern because of a bankruptcy. Faced with few choices, Papa John sold the only asset he had to his name: A Bumblebee-striped black-and-gold 1971½ Chevy Camaro Z28.

With the $1,600 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.

Article w/pictures continued here:

How Jalopnik Reunited Papa John With His Camaro - Papa John - Jalopnik

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Papa John's Camaro reward situation turns salty, ex-owners looking for bigger slice of the pie



File this under "No Cool, Wacky Deed Shall Go Unlitigated." John Schnatter, Papa John of Papa John's Pizza, put out a $250,000 A.P.B. to find his long lost 1971 1/2 Camaro Z28. According to the folks at Papa John, the person who won the money was the one whose name was on the title of the car – that is, the owner of the car was paid the dosh for selling the car back to Schnatter. Kentuckian Jeff Robinson came forth with the car and took home the cash.

The Papa John's folks say the rules never said anything about finder's fees. But when the Sloanes of Indiana helped point Schnatter to Robinson, Schnatter offered them $25,000 for the assist. How did the Sloanes know about the car? They had owned it previously and sold it to Robinson.

Now the Sloanes aren't happy about "only" getting $25,000. Billie Sloane wants more of that quarter million, and will sue Papa John if he doesn't pony up the cake. Her evidence is "advertisements and a press release that promised the money to whomever could 'reveal the car's whereabouts.'" Jeff Robinson chimes in, though, and says Sloane came to him and said the original owner would buy the car from him for $125,000, and says that she didn't mention the contest nor the full amount of the reward.

No matter. Now it's between Sloane, Papa, and potentially the courts. If only Papa John had listened to the late M.J. about another famous Billie: "So take my strong advice, just remember to always think twice..." Um, yeah, never saw this one coming. Good luck, Papa John...

LINK:Papa John's Camaro reward situation turns salty, ex-owners looking for bigger slice of the pie — Autoblog