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All the United States Ohio Toledo Jimmy Carter's Hot Dog Bun
Gastro Obscura

Jimmy Carter's Hot Dog Bun

This restaurant proudly displays bread signed by the 39th president.

Toledo, Ohio

Added By
Rachel Rummel
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CAPTION
  Adventure Mom/Used With Permission
The exterior of Tony Packo’s.   VinceB
  Adventure Mom/Used With Permission
There are other signed “buns” at Tony Packo’s, but they’re now artificial.   kellimarshall / Atlas Obscura User
Come for the jimmy carter bun… stay for the amazing collection of buns   ange1a / Atlas Obscura User
  SemiruralYeti / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Tony Packo's has sold sausages with spicy chili sauce since 1932. Today, the restaurant has five locations, but you'll have to visit the original to see Jimmy Carter's actual signature scribbled across a piece of stale bread.

Hot dog buns signed by celebrities line the walls at Tony Packo's in Toledo, Ohio. Most of these are custom-made, artificial recreations. But the original tradition involved signing an actual bun. The actor Burt Reynolds unintentionally got things started in the 1970s by putting his autograph on bread instead of a piece of paper. Since then, countless politicians, actors, and musicians put their John Hancock on the simple, perishable carbohydrate.

While almost every piece of processed bread manufactured in the 1970s has since disintegrated, two signatures from Tony's original collection of branded buns remain framed. The first belongs to Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States. The second is emblazoned with the handwriting of Walter Mondale, the 42nd vice president of the United States. This particular intersection of Americana-meets-White House paraphernalia has, by no means, aged well. But, they're both real, and still proudly mounted on the wall at Tony Packo's.

Related Tags

Film Hot Dogs Restaurants Sausages Television Bread Americana Political Provisions

Know Before You Go

There are three Tony Packo's locations in Toledo. To see the presidential bun, be sure to visit the original location on Front Street.

Community Contributors

Added By

rachelrummel

Edited By

ange1a, kellimarshall, SemiruralYeti, LiveLaughLeavemeAlone

  • ange1a
  • kellimarshall
  • SemiruralYeti
  • LiveLaughLeavemeAlone

Published

February 17, 2019

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Sources
  • "Odd Ohio: Famous folks put their names to their buns at Tony Packo’s," Akron Beacon Journal (April 2017): https://www.ohio.com/akron/lifestyle/odd-ohio-famous-folks-put-their-names-to-their-buns-at-tony-packo-s
  • "Packo's Caf co-owner nurtured legacy," Toledo Blade (Apr. 2003): https://www.toledoblade.com/Deaths/2003/04/24/Packo-s-Caf-co-owner-nurtured-legacy.html
  • https://adventuremomblog.com/reasons-need-stop-original-tony-packos-toledo/?fbclid=IwAR0r-tsEx7XX0GG96vw_3XUGmDBN5XnG5HCDlU8BlX8tH0ntvyZyy48Jw7Y
Jimmy Carter's Hot Dog Bun
1902 Front St.
Toledo, Ohio
United States
41.659988, -83.502147
Visit Website
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