A delivery car driver in the Naperville area is serving up holiday cheer along with his orders.
A Jimmy John’s holiday car driven and owned by employee Nick Garramone is lighting up the town with a dazzling display, turning heads along the way.
Car decked out with more than 3,500 lights
Nick got the idea to turn his car into a moving light show many years ago.
“So I saw on the news one day when I was younger that there was a Toyota Prius that had Christmas lights on his car and they were telling people not to do it. But younger me, was like, I don’t care…I want to spread the cheer,” Garramone said.
Years later, in 2021, he gave it a try, decking out his car with 2,000 blue Christmas lights. The following year he revved up the glow, putting more than 3,500 twinkling multicolored lights onto his Ford Fusion. And this year he’s back, to continue bringing a seasonal sparkle to the streets.
“Jimmy John’s loves it, it spreads holiday cheer. They’ve let me drive it around. I’ve gotten approval from them, but I try to keep it only lit up on the suburbs roads just to keep the roads safe, but still spread the holiday cheer,” said Garramone.
Lit-up car display inspired neighbor to do the same
He inspired his Naperville neighbor and friend, Mark Meyers to get his Tesla in on the glow as well.
“He showed up in front of my house and I was like, that is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. I got to be a part of this. So, I ran out that weekend, grabbed a few thousand lights and strapped them onto my car and we went out and had some fun,” Meyers said.
Traffic-stopping lit-up cars spread holiday cheer
Each driver has an iPad linked to the display on their lit-up cars which gives them a chance to change the colors of the lights as they go.
It’s a sight that will literally stop traffic.
“We thought it’d be pretty cool, but we didn’t think it would stop traffic. It kind of sometimes stops traffic and people, if, if you let the car sit out here long enough, you know you can see we’re getting a lot more traffic here. People will stop, they’ll just stop in the middle of the road, get out and start yelling things,” said Meyers.
They’ve both grown used to hearing honking horns and catching a glimpse of their cars on social media.
Nick works at seven different Jimmy John’s within the suburbs, at locations in Naperville, Darien, Downers Grove, Wheaton, Willowbrook, and Aurora, but has different shifts, so there’s no way to know if he’ll be the one stopping by with your sandwich order. But if you’re lucky you might catch a “freaky fast” glimpse of his lit-up car, or Mark’s, between now and New Year’s Eve.
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