23-cent pizzas draw crowds, cops

By JOSHUA S. FLESHER / Tribune Chronicle
People all over northeast Ohio lined up Thursday for their chance to get a 23-cent pizza, courtesy of Papa John’s. Some of them waited longer than they wanted to, with some stores closing early and police being called in at least one case.

The promotion was an apology to Ohioans and the Cleveland Cavaliers for having been a sponsor on a shirt that called Cavs’ star LeBron James a ‘‘cry baby.’’ His jersey number is 23.

The Papa John’s on Elm Road in Warren was swamped with customers trying to get their hands on a pizza. Lines wrapped around the building and into the parking lot, causing many customers to park across the street and cross the busy road.

Police were called by the store owners during the lunch rush as hundreds of customers filled the store and many more spilled outside. Many in line had waited more than an hour, and the line continued to grow.

Warren police Chief John Mandopoulos arrived about 1:15 p.m. to questions from the crowd about whether the shop was being shut down.

‘‘The Howland fire chief technically is going to have to come down here. We just want to bring it to their attention. We don’t want a situation where anyone will get hurt,’’ Mandopoulos said. ‘‘The people aren’t causing a problem, but it is creating a problem for other businesses. And people having to cross the road is creating traffic problems.’’

The Papa John’s in Niles closed early as well. Police were called about 3 p.m. to disperse a crowd that still waited around the store.

Other Papa John’s also closed early because of overflows or running out of pizzas. Customers complained that they were shut out of deeply discounted pizzas, some saying they were left with disappointed kids crying.

In Warren, the overflow of traffic and lack of parking space led to further problems for neighboring businesses.

Julie Allsteadt, owner of Pizza Express of Warren, and her daughter, Cortney Campbell, were forced to take action against customers who had ignored a no-parking sign in their lot.

‘‘This morning, we couldn’t take a delivery because we couldn’t park in our own lot,’’ Allsteadt said. Pizza Express and other businesses in their building called for a tow truck to remove the offending vehicles.

As customers filed out of the building, the main entrance to the store was closed, and people in line were redirected to the side of the building, where orders were taken.

The biggest problem came with the amount of people inside Papa John’s.

‘‘We’re reducing occupancy in the building. I can’t do anything about traffic, but we’re going to enforce occupancy rules,’’ said Assistant fire Chief Tim Thomas of the Howland Fire Department.

During the first-round NBA playoff series with the Cavaliers, fans of the Washington Wizards wore the shirt that had the Papa John’s logo on it. Fearing they had offended their customers in Cleveland and the surrounding areas, Papa John’s announced it would sell a large, one topping pizza for only 23 cents.



jflesher@tribune-chronicle.com