John Laskowski isn’t your ordinary former athlete. He is a man of many trades and lived many lives throughout his 66 years on this planet. From being recruited by Bob Knight to play for Indiana, to becoming a broadcaster for Hoosier games for 3 decades, to now owning a Culver’s in Bloomington. 

In his legendary tenure, Laskowski became more than just a former IU athlete to the people of B-town. 

Laskowski first came to the city on a recruiting trip for the Hoosier basketball with new Indiana head coach Bob Knight back in 1971. He committed to IU after seeing the Kelley School of Business’s reputation along with being a walk on as a Hoosier. After graduating from Indiana University Bloomington, he played in the NBA, commentated for the Hoosiers for 33 years, and went into real estate. However, in 2018, he ventured into creating the Bloomington location of a Culver’s restaurant by the University campus. 

Now, with the Culver’s, Laskowski gets to know not only his staff but also his customers. My team of fellow journalists had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Laskowski at his Culver’s. During my time at his establishment, he became very involved with the interview and made descriptive connections to his personal life as answers to our team’s questions towards him. He states that the best part of working is his son. ad he never gets to have the father-son relationship he never did as a kid due to his father’s passing. He also talked to his employee, who didn’t want to walk through the interview. “Go through, I know you have a job to do,” says John, “we care about our Culver’s quality.” He gives his heart and soul for the restaurant.

The Bloomington franchise not only is a hit in the area, but they also like to give back to the community they’re surrounded by in Indiana. One example of this is that from 5-8, 50% percent of the proceeds go to a local business in the area that needs help growing. John loves to give back to the community that gave him a basketball position on the team. John truly cares about his community by giving his best qualities to the city of Bloomington. Though playing Assembly Hall with Bob Knight was big, Laskowski’s heart towards the community and people is even bigger.