From Windsor to Sudbury: Pizza delivery becomes powerful show of community support

A Windsor pizza was delivered to a former resident now living in Sault Ste. Marie. CTV Windsor’s Robert Lothian explains why.

Windsor-made pizza is usually a reason to smile, but for former resident Dallas Reed, his latest delivery brought far more than a meal.

Now living in Sault Ste. Marie, Reed recently turned to the Facebook group Windsor Food Spotters to ask about Professor Zaaa’s, a pizzeria that opened in Windsor last year.

“Windsor Pizza is like the best in the world and so of course I was missing that,” Reed told CTV News.

His post caught the attention of Shawn Rizk, the group’s founder, who promised to deliver a pizza if it reached 519 likes, a reference to Windsor’s area code.

It didn’t take long for the post to surpass the goal, setting the stage for a nearly 500-kilometre pizza delivery.

But when Rizk contacted Reed to arrange the trip, he discovered the request meant much more than satisfying a craving.

“He said, man, I appreciate you reaching out. It’s crazy timing, I’m in Sudbury right now with my family. My father underwent a 15-hour-long surgery,” Rizk recalled.

“He said I made this post to get my mind off things. My father and I bond over Windsor-style pizza.”

Reed’s father, Chris, is battling squamous cell carcinoma, a rare form of cancer.

Although he lives in Sault Ste. Marie, Chris is receiving treatment at a hospital in Sudbury, where he recently underwent major surgery.

Through the care of “dynamite doctors,” Dallas said, they believe 99.9 per cent of the cancer has been eliminated.

After learning about the family’s situation, Rizk shared their story on Facebook, encouraging the community to help.

“Once I did, the entire city rallied behind it, and then from the moment I made that post, 48 hours later, I spent the entire time bouncing from business to business,” Rizk said.

The response from Windsor-Essex businesses was immediate.

Donations poured in, including food, drinks, gift baskets, nearly $1,000 in gift cards, and even a framed photo.

And, of course, there was plenty of pizza — including several pies from Professor Zaaa’s.

“They all filled my truck up with, like, everything. And even down to the ice in the cooler, we had businesses donate everything,” Rizk said.

On Sunday, Rizk and a group of friends made the drive to Sudbury, where they met Dallas and his family at the hospital.

“Even my dad, he was lost for words, and he said he’s never lost for words, and he isn’t,” Reed said.

“It means everything, really, just to have this kind of support from home.”

Chris Reed continues to recover and is hoping to leave the intensive care unit in the coming days.

“He’s the best father I could have ever asked for. And there’s nobody else who deserves this more than him,” Reed said of his dad.

For Rizk, the overwhelming show of support was heartwarming, but not unexpected.

“So, it’s like, being able to alleviate that stress off and that burden off of their shoulders meant the world to them, and it was it was good to see, and having the City of Windsor rally behind me was an incredible feeling,” he said.

Once he has recovered and is back on his feet, Chris hopes to return to Windsor to personally thank everyone who helped support his family.