Nick “Chewie” Chard, owner and operator of Pizza Quest in Fennville, Michigan, was driving in late July when he swerved to avoid a deer. His vehicle hit a ramp, launched 20 feet in the air and came crashing down. The accident left Chard with a burst vertebra and in need of surgery. 

Less than a month later, Pizza Quest announced on its Facebook page that it will be reopening today, Thursday, August 22. The shop will be fielding online orders for pickup only, it appears, and might sell out quickly—the Fennville community has rallied around Chard and his family in a big way. A GoFundMe started by members of the Fennville community to help the Chards pay medical bills has very nearly met its $40,000 goal. And Chard is in high spirits after his close call and recovery, reports MLive. 

“When the accident happened, I was completely humbled by how that community supported me,” Chard told the news station. “It truly brought tears to my eyes and still kind of does to think about it.”

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Fennville may be a town of just 1,700 in Western Michigan, but the community is apparently mighty. Chard credits the outpouring of support from the Fennville community with getting him through the “worst five days of [his] life.” He also said that another love, pizza making, helped propel him onwards. He desperately wanted to get back into his shop. 

“I truly think that pizza helped me get better,” he said. “It was like the medicine I needed.” 

Chard told MLive that opening a pizzeria was a lifelong dream of his. He had spent years in the hospitality industry before transitioning to a role in wealth management. He told MLive the finance industry was “eating [his] soul.” When West Michigan Pizza Co. in Fennville went up for sale last year, his wife encouraged him to seize the moment. 

“She was just like, ‘You have to do this, or else you’re going to regret it for the rest of your life,’” he said. “So away we went.”

The couple opened Pizza Quest in July 2023, a venture that immediately received positive feedback. Chard recalled one of the early reviews to MLive: “[Somebody] said something like: Come to this pizzeria and eat it, because in a few years it’s going to be so slamming that you’re not going to be able to get it,” he said.

Pizza Quest quickly became a staple in the community, known for its thin-crust pies designed by Chard to be “chewy, crunchy and flavorful after a 2-day fermentation process.” The pizzeria typically menus just four pizzas and a pair of appetizers. According to one Facebook post, toppings include locally-sourced bay leaf, shallot cream sauce, miso-blanched broccolini, mortadella, pistachio, and more. 

“Chewie put his love and passion into Pizza Quest,” a Pizza Quest Facebook post reads. “He put everything he had into it hoping [Michigan’s] art coast and beyond would recognize that this wasn’t just pizza, and gravitate towards it. While he recovers, he is working everyday to make sure pizza is still going to be available and he hopes the future of PQ stays bright. He always said, it started with the cheese pizza. He spent months perfecting it, it is often overlooked. And if ya can’t make a cheese pizza….well….your pizza isn’t an art.”