An Ohio pizza shop turned into an internet sensation after putting up two signs that read, “Now Hiring Non-Stupid People.”
Santino’s Pizzeria in southwest Columbus found an eccentric way to attract talent amid staffing shortages sweeping the nation. A few months ago the restaurant placed comical signs outside its location to announce they were hiring, WBNS reports.
But it wasn’t until someone recently snapped a photo of the signs and shared it on social media, that Santino’s garnered more attention than they were initially seeking.
“It was all supposed to be a joke,” store manager Heather Stockton said.
“Nothing serious, it was just more of the fact, we kept having an applicant, we’d train them and they’d just walk out.”
Stockton said the sarcastic signs were only put up after hiring a number of people who either stopped coming to work or didn’t take the job seriously.
“I had a high school student who thought it was okay to bring a nerf gun in with another employee here,” Stockton said.
The owner’s daughter, Jayden Dunigan also defended the sign.
“A lot of the people we’ve hired just don’t want to work,” Dunigan told WSYX. “There is no work ethic behind them, so that’s the meaning behind the ‘non stupid’.”
Now, after placing the signs, the pizza shop’s phone has been blowing up with calls from locals who support the funny signage or those calling to prank the eatery.
Stockton says the pizzeria is seeking workers that are “just reliable, on time, just, don’t come to work in, like, sandals.”
Local residents have been passing by the pizza shop to place an order and get a look at the unique signage.
“I thought it was funny, I didn’t think it was offensive at all, and so, that made me really curious about this pizza place, so that made me decide to come in and check it out,” resident Paul Robbins said.
For those offended by the signs, Stockton made a proposition.
“Instead of judging our signs, why don’t you come judge our pizzas? Our pizzas are really good,” she quipped.