“Papa John” Schnatter is experiencing a major public relations backlash this week after announcing that he will be forced to raise the price of pizza by 14 cents because President Obama was re-elected. Shnatter believes ObamaCare will cost his franchise owners an extra $8 million per year. Regardless of your political views, if there’s one thing you do not mess with in America, it’s the price of our fast food. Furthermore, even if Papa John was so worried about ObamaCare hurting his business, he never needed to make such a big public stink. Today hundreds of websites and thousands of people across the nation are calling for a Papa Johns boycott which, if successful, will only hurt hard working employees in the long run. I want to be clear that I absolutely admire John Schnatter’s success, especially his $600 million net worth. Not trying to take political sides with this article, I just don’t think anyone would have noticed the 14 cent price increase, so he should have kept quiet and continued making cheesy pizza and super cheesy commercials.
Papa John Schnatter’s House:
When Papa John Schnatter hosted a fundraiser for Mitt Romney earlier this year, the Republican candidate began his remarks by saying: “Who would’ve imagined pizza could build this? This is really something. Don’t you love this country? What a home this is, what grounds these are, the pool, the golf course…. This is a real tribute to America, to entrepreneurship.” If your house impresses Mitt Romney, the ultimate one percenter, you know it must be pretty awesome. To start, John Schnatter’s 40,000 square foot castle is located in a wealthy country club suburb of Louisville, Kentucky. The property is spread out over a 16 acre estate and as Romney mentioned, features several swimming pools, a private lake and a golf course. The guest house alone is 6000 square feet and is valued at over $7 million according to Zillow.com! Another interesting feature is the 22 car multi-level underground garage which has its very own “valet office”, car wash and a gigantic motorized turn table-driveway to help park stretch limousines. You can see the entrance to the underground garage in the lower left of this photo:
Papa John Schnatter’s House
Papa John Schnatter’s House from another Angle:
John Schnatter’s House From Above
I’m a little torn on how to feel about Papa John Schnatter. As a business owner I understand cutting costs to ensure the bottom line health of your company, but I also just don’t see why Papa would open himself up to this storm. What do you think about Papa John threatening to raise pizza prices by 14 cents? Will that affect your pizza ordering decisions from now on?
Read more: Papa John Schnatter’s $600 Million Fortune Bought This Insane Mansion