Ken’s Pizza in Iowa Park Brings in the Dough With Sizable Donation to Hurricane Harvey Relief
Ken's Pizza owner, Haroon Ahmed, presented a check for the amount of $7,100 to the American Red Cross today. The check came from donations raised on Tuesday as the small pizza parlor in Iowa Park devoted the day's sales to the Hurricane Harvey relief. Staff donated time and money toward the cause but none of them were prepared for the overwhelming amount of support.
Sauce flew and the famous calzones sizzled as paid staff and volunteers opened the doors Tuesday. Staff donated hours and tips and customers entered to leave donations, at times without staying to eat. Ahmed said they prepared by making four times the amount of food but the turn out was much more than expected. A few patrons observing the long lines, began busing tables. Others agreed to come and help in any way, including the owner himself. He could be seen among the chaos of cooks and waitstaff, making himself available and helpful.
Even with all of the preparations, the delicious calzones sold out first and then the buffalo wings by 9:00 p.m. The phones rang and rang but there just weren't enough hands to take the orders. Ahmed said most customers were more than understanding and didn't mind the long lines because they "truly came with a heart for the cause."
Ahmed has been the owner of Ken's Pizza since 2013 and the pizza parlor regularly hosted fundraisers when in need. After watching the disaster to our southern friends, he knew he must act.
"Ken's stands for taking care of our community. The whole state of Texas is our community," said Ahmed.
Ahmed added, "Ken's was the location but it wasn't Ken's at all. It was people that showed up with contributions and took this to heart. Ken's was just the place where it happened."