Local news and radio stations called it the "Blizzard of the Decade." Kara and Dalton called it their wedding day.
The wedding ceremony was planned on April 14, 2018 in Early, Iowa with a reception to follow in Sioux Rapids. When we spoke to Kara, the bride, she never imagined worrying about a blizzard in the middle of April. However, in the days leading up to the wedding, it became clear that a powerful storm was headed to the Midwest, and they would be right in the middle of it.
Earlier that week, Kara and Dalton's caterer contacted them to say that they were watching the winter storm closely, and may need to cancel if traveling would be dangerous. With this warning, Kara's father began thinking about reception meal alternatives.
The first thing that came to his mind? Casey's pizza.
He called the Casey's in Sioux Rapids and spoke with the manager, Denita. She assured him that Casey's would make as many pizzas as they needed for the wedding if their caterer couldn't make it.
Sure enough, at 10 am on the day of the wedding, the caterer did cancel. Denita and her employees stayed true to their promise and dutifully made enough pizzas for the reception. Thankfully, a couple of the Casey's employees live within blocks of the store and were available "on call" in case the wedding needed a large order. Those two additional employees braved the storm to come in and assist with prepping the forty pizzas that were ordered.
Under different circumstances, that Casey's store would have closed down during the storm. Instead, they stayed open to make sure this wedding reception wouldn't be without food.
When we called the store to speak with Denita, we asked about the decision to keep the store running under those conditions. She noted that the Kara and Dalton are "local people, and we just wanted to help them out." It was as simple as that.
Denita and her employees are proud of all of the positive comments that the store received after that event, and they've even had another inquiry about providing pizzas for a future wedding. It sounds like the Sioux Rapids Casey's may have just entered the catering business.
Thank you to this outstanding Casey's team for dedicating time and effort to save Kara and Dalton's special day. What a great way to show your support for the community.
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