Bobtown Pizza Shop Getting National Attention Over Coupon Controversy
BOBTOWN (KDKA) -- Natives in the rural area of Bobtown say a simple gesture has snowballed out of control.
"A person lost their life out there and everybody's concentrating on coupons for a pizza," Peter Novak, of Bobtown, said.
After Chevron - who owned the well that exploded on Feb. 11 - bought 100 pizzas and two liters of pop from Bobtown Pizza, the company created vouchers for people who live close to the site.
According to people in Bobtown, the vouchers were given out to say thanks for dealing with the increased traffic, not to lessen the severity of the tragedy.
"They weren't trying to cover up anything. It was a good gesture, and unfortunately, that good gesture got torn apart and so many people took it the wrong way," Shelia Kovalcheck, of Bobtown, said.
When news spread though, not everyone agreed that the pizza and pop combination was appropriate.
A petition to get Chevron to apologize was created, and then this week, the spotlight shined on the 700 person town all the way from New York and Stephen Colbert.
Bobtown Pizza owner Bill Sowden says the attention's been an interesting experience so far.
"We've had calls from Canada, Florida, California; I don't know. It's crazy," he said.
He even got a call from Jon Stewart who's slated to do an hour-long interview with Sowden on Tuesday.
The attention hasn't created any more business, but there have been numerous calls from people pretending they had a voucher. So, far only a dozen coupons have been redeemed.
RELATED LINKS:
Chevron Pizza 'Scandal' Not A Problem With Locals (3/7/14)
More Greene County News
More Reports by Christine D'Antonio
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