The owner of Delta Pizza in Delta, Pennsylvania had long had a reputation of making sure that the Amish people in his community never went hungry. When his pizzeria burned down just before Christmas in 2013, the local Amish community replayed his kindness by rallying around him like never before.

Delta is a rural town of just 700 people right on the Maryland border, and there isn’t many options for locals when it comes to finding places to eat. After the fire, as the owner and his employees were cleaning up, something magical happened.

“We’re cleaning up and I heard this noise outside, like a train was coming through,” said Sal Ferranti, who had owned the restaurant since his father, Guiseppe, died in 1999. “It was 30 Amish men in buggies. They helped for one day with the demolition of the building.”

The Amish men were just returning Sal’s kindness, as he had been sending the extra food from catering jobs to them for years. The entire community of Delta ended up rallying behind Sal as well because of all the kind things he had done for them over the years. Sal would do things like give kids free pizza on snow days and donate free pizza to local charities and fundraisers. When he came across a homeless man on the street one day, he ended up giving him a job and a place to stay.

“That’s just the kind of guy Sal is,” said Deborah Shade, who nominated Delta Pizza for the Nicest Places competition. “Anybody that comes to him with any kind of request, he’s there for them.”

Sal learned everything he knows about kindness from his father, who brought his family to the United States from Italy back in 1984. At the time, they had nothing and did not even speak English, but after they obtained citizenship in 1987, Guiseppe flags for every flagpole in town. These flags continue to fly in Delta to this day.

After Delta’s Pizza reopened in 2015, Sal knew he needed to continue his father’s legacy of helping his community. That’s why each year, he chooses a different Amish family who helped out with his demolition and spends two days doing hard labor on their farm. They were there to help him when he needed it, so now he helps them with whatever they need.

“They were so giving and so helping, and I have to give back to them—to everyone who helped,” Sal said.