King Of Pizza Box Folding Brings Skills, Smiles To North Andover Shop

NORTH ANDOVER (CBS) - He's the king of the pizza box folders, and this young man brings not only his skills, but also his smile to a shop in North Andover. Andrew Chartier is on the autism spectrum, and was recently a competitor in the "Olympics" of the pizza world. And "Team Andrew" supported him all the way.

The 19-year-old is fast with a pizza box. "He's faster than anyone else here, by far," says Tyler Thomas, a manager at Stachey's Pizza in North Andover. Andrew got the box folding gig through a high school program that places special needs students into jobs. He's been a success story at Stachey's for four years.

"It's a great program," Thomas said. "I definitely think that more places around town should be open to it. Honestly, we all smile when we see Andrew coming in. He just brings so much energy here.

When the shop's owner learned there would be a pizza skills competition in Haverhill, he signed Andrew up. But there was a hitch. The boxes in the contest were a different size than the ones at Stachey's. So the owner, Terry Holland, bought 1000 of the competition size boxes so Andrew could practice.

On game day, in front of an ESPN audience, Andrew was ready. And even though he wasn't used to folding standing up, he powered through, finishing 4th against a field of seasoned pros. "I think he was really proud. He just came off stage and it was like a mic drop. Yeah, I folded my boxes," says Andrew's mother Kristyn Chartier with a laugh.

Other Stachey's workers showed up in Team Andrew shirts to cheer him on. But the best thing about the job for Andrew is the second family he's found here. "It's huge. As a special needs parent you always worry about how the community will receive your child. So having Stachey's be so supportive has been really important to his development," Kristyn Chartier says.