Restaurant manager drove 3 hours to make 'epic' pizza delivery for customer with cancer

The manager of a couple’s favorite pizza restaurant drove across state lines to deliver two pizzas. (Photo: Getty Images)
The manager of a couple’s favorite pizza restaurant drove across state lines to deliver two pizzas. (Photo: Getty Images)

A restaurant manager went the extra mile on Tuesday and drove for more than three hours to deliver two pizzas to a couple who couldn’t keep their reservation after receiving some devastating news.

Julie and Rich Morgan from Indianapolis have been going to Steve’s Pizza in Battle Creek, Mich., for 25 years. Even when they were younger and money was tight, the couple was willing to fork it over every payday for what they consider a “gold standard” meal.

“Rich frequently critiqued other pizza as ‘good but, it’s no Steve’s,’” Julie wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday. Recently, the couple planned a weekend getaway to Michigan for her 56th birthday to “see the leaves and the lakeshore,” but the priority was going for a meal at Steve’s.

Julie Morgan shared a picture of the pizza and a heartfelt post after the touching act for her husband. (Photo: Julie Morgan via Facebook)
Julie Morgan shared a picture of the pizza and a heartfelt post after the touching act for her husband. (Photo: Julie Morgan via Facebook)

“Instead, I took Rich to the ER where he landed in ICU for five days, and where we learned the news that his valiant cancer battle was coming to an end,” Julie wrote. “Rich is home under hospice care and we are enjoying every minute reminiscing and visiting with family and friends.”

Without telling the couple, Julie’s father contacted Steve’s Pizza and spoke to the manager to explain the situation and ask if they would send well-wishes. But manager Dalton Shaffer went above and beyond, asking what kind of pizza the couple wanted and telling them he would make the three-hour drive to Indianapolis to deliver it.

Sometimes a slice of pizza is more than it appears to be! Read on for the story of an epic pizza delivery and the…

Posted by Julie Morgan on Tuesday, October 16, 2018

“While Rich and I slept, at 2:30 AM, Dalton rolled into our driveway, left the car running and delivered two extra special pizzas to my waiting family,” Julie wrote. “He told them we were in his prayers, and offered to help in any way he could.”

Julie called the gesture “an epic pizza delivery and the unbelievable kindness of a stranger.”

“My dad offered to put him up in a hotel, but he refused and immediately left for the return trip home because he had to work the next day. I am beyond overwhelmed and humbled. … Dalton brought our family so much joy — and the best pizza in the world — at a really difficult time.”

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