‘I love this town’: John Gullo made big impact on Ogden, promotes new book at patriotic release party
-
- Businessman and philanthropist John Gullo is surrounded by kids celebrating the release of his book ‘Extraordinary Adventures of an Ordinary Man’ at the Treehouse CHildren’s Museum on Friday, June 19, 2026.
-
- Businessman and philanthropist John Gullo signs a copy of his new book ‘Extraordinary Adventures of an Ordinary Man’ on Friday, June 19, 2026.
-
- Businessman and philanthropist John Gullo (left) is presented with a proclamation signed by Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski recognizing the release of his book ‘Extraordinary Adventures of an Ordinary Man’ at the Treehouse CHildren’s Museum in Ogden on Friday, June 19, 2026.
OGDEN — From helping establish Burger King in the Beehive State to bringing pickleball to Ogden, businessman and philanthropist John Gullo has had quite the story.
On Friday, Ogdenites and other interested parties had their first chance to really dive into that story. During a special release party at the Treehouse Children’s Museum in Ogden, amidst children waving special American flags celebrating the country’s 250th birthday, Gullo promoted and signed copies of his newly released book ‘Extraordinary Adventures of an Ordinary Man.’
A native of Buffalo, New York, Gullo recalled how it was Burger King that helped bring him to Utah in the fast food chain’s early years.
“I used to work for Burger King when Burger King first started franchising,” he said. “I was one of the first franchise district managers. I covered New York State and Western Pennsylvania.”
He said his opportunity to move to Utah came in 1976 when corporate chose him to expand the brand in the Intermountain West.
“I get a phone call, ‘We have an opportunity for you in Logan, Utah,'” he said. “Never been west of Chicago. I had to make the decision to move to Utah sight unseen, and I did it. And then I learned really quickly once it was only one other restaurant in the state at the time. And I learned that all the advertising in the world doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have market penetration. People got to be able to visit where you’re at.”
Gullo expanded to Riverdale and beyond, going on to acquire 54 restaurants across three states. He eventually sold these off and founded the nonprofit American Dream Foundation. Gullo also created the Hot Rock’n 4th in 2001 which helped the city celebrate the Fourth of July for 15 years. Meanwhile, the American Dream Foundation would donate to several causes, including the Treehouse Children’s Museum, the Ogden City Police Department, the American Fallen Fire Memorial and more. Gullo also helped bring pickleball to the city, taking the lead on building courts in the area and founding the Professional Pickleball Federation. He was inducted into the Pickleball Hall of Fame for these efforts in 2024.
Gullo said the book came about as a suggestion.
“I was at a function in Vegas,” he said. “I was sitting at a table with a publisher. There was a lot of people who said I should tell my story. I said, ‘I’ll tell you what. I gave a speech to the IRS here for 800 employees on the Power of One service. In that story, I kind of told my life story, too.’ I sent her a copy of the video, and she sent it back and said, ‘I not only want to publish this book, I want to write it,’ so we started doing that.”
However, it wasn’t going to be that easy.
“Unfortunately, COVID hit, and you know how that affected a lot of the economy,” he said. “She was hurting for money, and I ended up paying her to finish the book, and she didn’t finish it.”
Gullo said that, for a time, he was a bit lost, but the project would ultimately come together.
“I spent a year trying to figure out who the heck is going to be my co-author, because I barely got out of high school,” he said. I graduated with a C-minus diploma. So I got this Times bestseller that I had met working with the Underground Railroad program. I asked her, ‘Do you do this?’ She said she did. So Bridget Cook(-Burch) is the one that came in and we wrote the book together.”
He said he’s hopeful that younger people will be able to take a lot from the book.
“In the book, what I did is after each chapter there’s my life lessons,” he said. “I had one of the people that proofread the book said, ‘You know, John, your generation and our generation know something. If we can get millennials and later to read the book and listen to this, I think we can have an impact on the world.’ It’s very honest.”
At one point in the release party, Gullo was presented with a proclamation signed by Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski proclaiming June 19, 2026, as John Gullo Day in Ogden.
Gullo told the crowd that he may not be nearly as old as one would think, but he’ll always be a fan of Ogden.
“I might be in my 83rd year, but I was born on February 29, so I’ve only had 20 birthdays, which means my wife here is a cougar,” he said. “And I love you all. I love this town.”
He added that Ogden is representative of the best that America has to offer.
“I remember when we did the Fireman’s Memorial,” he said. “I said, ‘I love this town. I still love this town.’ I might not be here, but this town represents what America is all about, in my opinion.”
For more information on John Gullo and to purchase ‘Extraordinary Adventures of an Ordinary Man,’ visit https://www.johnagullo.com.
