TAR PAPE TOM MONAGHAN WELCOMES AMU TRUSTEES TO A RETREAT OFF THE BEATEN PATH
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efore I came to Ave Maria, I had heard for years about Tom Monaghan and admired his entrepreneurial genius from afar. After all, ordinary people don’t pioneer international pizza delivery chains like he did with Domino’s, or donate hundreds of millions of dollars to build a Catholic university in
the middle of a patch of tomato fields. So when I went to Michigan for the Ave Maria University Board of Trustees retreat and heard that Tom would be hosting a dinner in another of his creations – the legendary Tar Paper Shack – I wasn’t sure what to expect. I kept asking myself this question: Who intentionally builds a beaten-down shack,
covers it only with tar paper, furnishes it with rummage-sale chairs and a metal table, and then has a team of chefs prepare an 8 course gourmet meal and offer a selection of vintage wines? Only Tom! To say the Tar Paper Shack is off the beaten path is an understatement. From the main road you have to follow a rocky path that winds about a half mile through