Pizza Lines Add Up To $17,500 Worth Of Pies

CLEVELAND -- Papa John's said there was a "terrific response" to Thursday's offer of 23-cent pizzas at northeast Ohio stores.

People waited in line for several hours at area Papa John's locations to buy a large pizza for 23 cents.

A Papa John's representative said that the total charity donation added up to $37,500 and the pizza promotion raised more than $17,500 for the LeBron James Family Foundation.

The deal came after a Washington-area Papa John's pizza shop made and distributed "CRYBABY" T-shirts with the No. 23 to criticize Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James during the Cleveland-Washington series.

The promotion was part of an apology to Cleveland Cavaliers fans.

In Akron, one location cut off the line and gave rainchecks to remaining customers. Those rainchecks will be valid for a 23-cent pizza for one week.

In Euclid, Papa John's management said they had sold more than 1,200 pizzas which is as many as they usually sell in three days.

Police said 600 people waited in line in Euclid, where one customer was arrested for public intoxication, one for disorderly conduct and one for resisting.

Some customers waitied as long as 2 ½ hours for the cheap pizza. At the University Heights Papa John's, the wait was up to five hours.

At that location, police said a few people tried to jump the line, but they were pulled out and those in line started cheering.

A Newsnet5.com viewer e-mailed and said a fight broke out at the Springfield Township location on Waterloo Road in Summit County.

Springfield police said a verbal altercation took place between two people in line. No one was hurt and no arrests were made, police said.

Tim North, a division manager for Papa John's, said all northeast Ohio Papa John's participated. The one-topping pizza had to be picked up, however.

"It's a recession busting offer, and we certainly hope we have made it up to Cleveland," North said.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Papa John's said, "Even though we prepared our stores to make more than 75,000 pizzas today, this great response may mean we'll run out of product and if we do our restaurants will close for the balance of the day."

In addition, the statement said, "If you are calling our restaurants and receiving a busy signal or no answer, we apologize and appreciate your patience. The call volume is tremendous."Eighty-six stores in Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo and Youngstown are part of the deal.