Going to college at the University of Maine in Orono, Matt Clark and Matt Grondin bonded over their shared love of things like hip-hop, baseball and pizza.
Pat’s Pizza, to be specific, the iconic Maine pizza chain that was founded in Orono in 1931. Although they now live on opposite ends of the state — Clark in Bangor and Grondin in Cumberland — there are 17 Pat’s Pizza locations between Portland and Presque Isle, so they can sate their craving for a pie any time they want.
Having a Pat’s near home is just not enough for Clark and Grondin, however. They want to go bigger. They want to prove their love for Pat’s Pizza in a truly epic way — by visiting all 17 locations in 24 hours. This Friday night, Oct. 19, they will start their quest, something that, as far as they know, no one else in Maine has yet accomplished.
“We’ve been talking about it for a long time,” said Clark, who grew up in The Netherlands but moved to the United States at age 18 to go to UMaine. “And now, finally, everything worked out and we could do it. Gosh darn it, this is the year, you know? … It’s a challenge. It’s a lot of driving. And we get to see just about every corner of the state in one day.”
The journey begins Friday evening in Presque Isle, where the pair will visit the Pat’s there just before it closes at 10:30 p.m. They’ll then spend the night in a hotel in town, and get up early on Saturday to drive to Machias, to visit the next Pat’s on the stop.
To read the rest of “24 hours. 17 Pat’s Pizza locations. 2 determined Maine men.,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Emily Burnham, please follow this link to the BDN online.
