Oakland (KMTR) - World-Famous Tolly's Restaurant and Soda Fountain in historic Oakland is looking for a new owner. All that's required is $500 to enter a contest and the ability to cook a signature food dish. Co-Owner Jeffrey Parker doesn't believe he'll have any problem finding 1,800 people willing to spend $500 each to enter the contest.
"This was probably the most brilliant idea that we came up with. And what's so fascinating is that people have to understand this is Oakland, Oregon. That's where this (idea) spawned from. Not Los Angeles, not New York," said Parker. Contestants will answer three questions. Based on their responses, eight finalists will be flown to Oakland to cook a signature dish.
"And then one lucky person will win this restaurant. Sounds like a reality TV show to me, but we just don't have the time for that," said Parker. Burdened with high overhead costs stemming from thousands of dollars spent on renovations the past two years, Parker said he can't continue running Tolly's in the current economy. However, he believes an aspiring restaurant owner could be successful, because they wouldn't have the high overhead costs Parker now faces. The $500 entry fee from 1,800 contestants would pay off the debt.
"The beauty is for $500, you now own the business. You don't have the overhead that I have. You don't have the hundreds of thousands of dollars that I spent re-doing this building," said Parker. People interested in entering the contest can obtain the rules on line at
www.tollys-restaurant.com. The winner will be announced no later than February 28, 2010. If less than 1,800 enter the contest, Parker said the money will be returned to the entrants.
