It’s an epic tale that encompasses all the essential elements of human experience ? true love, friendship, a perilous journey, seemingly insurmountable obstacles and of course, a fantastic pizza pie.
But it’s not the plot to some Hollywood blockbuster or New York Times bestselling novel.
It’s the true story of how Shawn McGuire, founder and owner of the Guido’s Premium Pizza franchise, traveled approximately 1,500 miles one-way last week to deliver 10 of his finest pizzas to the wedding reception of a loyal customer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
‘It would have been very easy to say ‘no? to something like that. I’m not going to make any money on it. I don’t have the time. Blah, blah, blah,? explained McGuire, of Oxford. ‘But to say yes and do it and do it to the best of your ability . . . what I got from it is a great story to tell my friends and family for the rest of my life. We made an unbelievable delivery.?
It all started with a simple phone call from Florida resident Jonathan Lawson to the Guido’s store in Pontiac on Sept. 18. Clint Bryant, the store’s owner, took the call.
Lawson and his friends, Jeff Ringold and Kelly Nelson (a.k.a the groom and bride), used to live across from the Pontiac Guido’s before they all moved to Florida. The three were huge fans of Guido’s heavenly pie and while reminiscing about it, Ringold made an offhand remark about how great it would be to partake of a slice or two at his upcoming wedding.
Lawson asked Bryant if perhaps the store could ship some frozen pizzas to the sunshine state. He was planning to give them to the happy couple as a surprise wedding gift.
Bryant called McGuire and the franchise owner gave the only response any self-respecting pizza-maker who truly cares about his craft could possibly utter at that moment.
‘We’re not going to send frozen pizzas to this guy’s wedding. That’s ridiculous. There’s no way,? McGuire said. ‘Tell him I’ll personally bring it down to him.?
Thus the journey of heroes began.
But McGuire wasn’t about to prepare the pies here in Michigan and drive them down. That would have been worse than freezing them.
‘There’s no way we can make Guido’s pizza up here and deliver it 24 hours later. It’s impossible,? McGuire said.
He needed a place in Florida to prepare his famous pizzas. Using his national contacts, McGuire was able to secure the kitchen of the Pizza Machine in Hollywood, Florida, which is roughly 20-25 minutes from Fort Lauderdale.
‘Once I knew I had a kitchen, it was just a matter of adjusting my schedule,? he said. ‘We only had eight days to plan this ? actually less than that. This was not an easy thing to plan, but I knew we could do this.?
McGuire is very grateful to Pizza Machine owner Dominick Del Pozzo for all his help.
‘This guy was a riot. What a great guy,? he said. ‘Everything was no problem, bro. Whatever you need, bro.?
At 9:15 a.m. Friday, Sept. 25, McGuire and Bryant hit the road in the Guido’s van packed with enough dough, cheese, toppings and sauce to create 10 Big ‘G? pizzas, a 16-inch-by-16-inch square deep dish pie.
They arrived in Florida at 7:30 a.m. the next day.
‘We drove straight through,? McGuire said.’We never got a hotel room. That’s how busy we were. It was just nonstop.?
After doing some prep work and spending a few hours at the beach, McGuire and Bryant were all set to bake the pizzas and deliver them at 10 p.m. to the reception at the Ritz-Carlton in Fort Lauderdale, when they received a phone call that almost put the kibosh on the whole plan.
It seems nobody had cleared the pies? delivery with the Ritz-Carlton, which has a strict no-outside-food policy at the events it hosts.
‘They would not budge about bringing outside food in,? McGuire said. ‘I’m a little disappointed in the Ritz-Carlton.?
But McGuire was not about to admit defeat and drown his sorrows in a sea of tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese.
He defiantly declared, ‘I’m delivering pizzas to the Ritz-Carlton. That’s all I know. I didn’t drive 24 hours to not get this job done. I’m doing my job.?
So, he came up with a plan. Lawson was to bring the happy couple to the hotel’s lobby and there they would take delivery of their surprise pies.
At about 11 p.m., the Guido’s van arrived at the hotel. When McGuire hopped out to videotape the event, he told the valet, ‘You’re about to witness history here.?
As the van pulled up to the hotel’s entrance, ‘the bride and groom came out right on cue,? McGuire said.
When presented the pies, at first, the confused groom didn’t quite get it. He thought maybe there was a Guido’s location in Florida.
But when Lawson explained how Bryant and McGuire had driven all the way from Michigan to deliver these pizzas as a wedding gift, the couple was stunned.
‘You could just see the raw emotion on everybody’s face,? McGuire said. ‘The video is absolutely priceless. They were so shocked they couldn’t believe it at first. The bride got to the point where she just about started crying.?
‘It was probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced in my lifetime. It was just raw emotion,? he added.
Dressed in their Guido’s uniforms, McGuire and Bryant posed for a few photos with the happy couple. The pizzas ? which consisted of nine pepperoni pies and one with pepperoni, onions and mild banana pepper rings (the groom’s favorite) ? were sent up to the wedding party’s hotel rooms.
Then, like two superheroes who had just saved the day, McGuire and Bryant disappeared into the night until needed once more.
Actually, they drove back to the Pizza Machine to chat with the owner for a while.
At 2 a.m. Sunday morning, they were on the road again and didn’t stop until they arrived home at 2 a.m. Monday.
‘We went down there, we did our delivery and we came back. It was not a vacation. We did our job,? McGuire said.
In the end, McGuire is flattered that someone loved his pizza enough to want it at their wedding so far away.
‘It’s an unbelievable compliment to our product,? he said.
On Tuesday, Ringold, the groom, sent McGuire an e-mail expressing his gratitude ? ‘It has taken me a few days to get my hands around exactly what happened on Saturday night. Needless to say I was in such shock . . . Thank you for making (our) wedding one for the ages . . . The pizza was delicious as always and every last piece was eaten by the entire wedding group.?
Just in case you’re wondering, McGuire charged $150 for the out-of-state delivery, which is a far cry from the normal $2.99 if you want pie brought to your door around here.
He said the charge didn’t cover the time and cost of the cross-country trip, so he considers the difference to be a wedding gift from him.
Those interested in watching the special delivery video McGuire filmed can view it at YouTube.com. It’s entitled ‘Guido’s Pizza Delivers to Florida? and has a running time of 6 minutes, 4 seconds.