New Bedford pizzeria owner praised for braving blizzard, feeding plow drivers

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WLNE) – A New Bedford pizza shop owner received community praise after braving Saturday’s blizzard to feed all the plow truck drivers in the city.

Jose Rua, the owner of Rua’s West End Pizzeria, opened his shop despite about a foot and a half of snow and a power outage.

“We unburied ourselves, we got in and that was it, a little path to the street, and we made it happen all day long,” Rua said. “Great to give [the plow drivers] something warm, a nice meal right from here to them for whatever time they showed up over there at their office.”

New Bedford’s Mayor Jon Mitchell posted on Facebook during the storm with a shout-out for Rua, who at one point was in the dark, making 75 large pizzas for all the plow truck drivers in the city.

Mayor Mitchell said in his post: “Many thanks to Jue Rua, the owner of Rua’s Pizza, for going into work today for the sole purpose of making pizzas for the City’s hard working plow drivers.”

The post received hundreds of reactions, comments, and shares.