30 years of Carmen's pizza challenge: More than a T-shirt

NEPTUNE CITY - The challenge is simple: Finish Carmen’s XXL pizza (all 18 inches) at Pete and Elda’s Bar in 30 minutes and get the coveted Whole Pie-Eaters Club T-shirt.

But what began as a fun idea that drew marginal interest in 1991 has exploded to a daily event that draws dozens of hungry contestants who try their luck each night, owner George Andretta says.

“It started out very slow,” Andretta said. “There were maybe three or five in a week back then. We probably do 1,000 a month now.”

Stop by during any dinner hour, especially on weekends, and you’ll find that claim is true. Most nights there’s no shortage of customers working their way through the flat-crusted delicacies seeking the prized clothing at dinner hour.

“The last 10 years or so it has really gotten popular,” Andretta said. “A lot of people want to try it and say they did it.”

Among those recently were 17-year-olds Kaitlin Hintelmann of Tinton Falls and her cousin, Katherine Murphy, of Red Bank, who ordered up the pies on a Thursday evening.

“This is my first and I’m starting to feel really full,” Hintelmann, a senior at Monmouth Regional High School said as she downed her fifth slice. “It’s something a lot of kids at my school do. More girls than boys.”

Murphy, a Red Bank Regional High School student, was on her second challenge, hoping for another T-shirt, and felt more confident of success.

“I wanted the T-shirt,” she said about the initial attempt. “My dad said he had done it. It is a cool thing and the T-shirts are cool.”

Across the room, six members of the Larkin Family of Ocean Township were digging into their pies hoping for T-shirt awards.

“Not a lot of places do a challenge,” said Ryan Larkin, who joined his brother and four other relatives for the occasion. “It’s fun.”

His niece, Emma, took the contest seriously, handling three slices at once to meet the time demand. “We all said we wanted to try it and we just did it,” she said between bites.

Chris Andretta, George’s son, said the fastest completion of the challenge is three minutes and 32 seconds, set by an anonymous adult male in 2017.

The most pies consumed by one contestant is three and a half, set more than 15 years ago by a 20-something man. Yes, he took home three T-shirts.

“It is crazy how popular it has become,” said Chris Andretta, who credits his wait staff for keeping an eye on the challengers and working the busy customer base. “They are the sheriffs. They make sure they eat them and no one cheats.”

He said he has never done the challenge himself, preferring to let customers have the fun. He’s also never run out of T-shirts.

The shirt options have changed over the years. In the beginning, a new design would be offered every four months or so. Now, it’s a regular event each month when the latest look is revealed.

“I have quite a few,” said Tom Rispoli, 68, of Lakewood, who is a regular at the pizzeria and claims to have all but two designs. “When I saw they were doing the challenge, I gave it a shot. I have been coming here ever since.”

The man behind the designs is local musician Todd Robbins, leader of the Todd Robbins Band, which regularly performs up and down the Shore music circuit.

“I’ve been doing them for 25 years,” said Robbins, who began the shirt designs while working for Dr. T-Shirt, the Manasquan-based printer that makes them. “I goof around with it until I come up with something I like. People come to see me play, but they have no idea I design those shirts.”

George, who lives in Wall and grew up in Neptune City, said his father, Carmen, launched the pizza business with a recipe he still uses today. He first began tossing the dough at another location, then moved into Pete and Elda’s in 1961.

George first worked in the kitchen as an 8-year-old and took over when his father retired in 1977. His family bought the bar from Pete and Elda in 1984.

He said the idea for the challenge occurred during a visit to a Wildwood bar where a T-shirt was awarded to any person who could drink a yard of beer (about 2.5 pints) in one sitting.

“I did it and got the shirt,” Andretta recalled. “Then I thought we could do it with pizza. We started out small and it has really grown.”

Between the cost of the pizza and the T-shirts, the challenge has a low profit margin, if any. But it draws customers and publicity, which makes it worthwhile, George said.

“It is probably a break-even kind of thing,” he said. “People also get other stuff and we have been doing it so long that it is something we want to keep. We thought about stopping it, but it creates so much excitement and customers come in wanting to do it.”

Joe Strupp is an award-winning journalist with 30 years’ experience who covers education and several local communities for APP.com and the Asbury Park Press. He is also the author of three books, including Killing Journalism on the state of the news media, and an adjunct media professor at Rutgers University and Fairleigh Dickinson University. Reach him at [email protected] and at 732-413-3840. Follow him on Twitter at @joestrupp

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Pete and Elda's Carmen's pizza challenge marks 30 year anniversary