CHICAGO — Surveillance video captured when a car collided with a truck, veered off the road, and crashed into a Chatham-area restaurant.
The crash caused extensive damage to Josephine’s Southern Cooking, located at 436 E 79th St, on Friday morning. As a result, restaurant owner Victor Love told WGN News he is left to deal with the cleanup and repairs.
“We’re moving quickly,” he said. “We’re cleaning up. The board-up company is on the way. Unfortunately, we don’t have a high brick wall, so it didn’t stop anything. It was all glass.”
The crash shattered the front window and plowed through tables and chairs in the dining room before coming to a stop.
MORE FROM WGN’S ANDREA MEDINA: DNC delegates reportedly targeted in string of armed robberies
The restaurant is known for its legendary soul food but is also famous for Love’s mom, Mother Wade, a cherished figure in the community. For 43 years, Love and his mother helped make the restaurant a cornerstone, serving Chicagoans and notable individuals, including 6th Ward Ald. William Hill, who is also a nephew.
“ASAP, we need this place open,” Hill said. “We do not have many restaurants in this ward, so we want this to be what it has always been: a place of hope and feeding those who are hungry.”
According to Chicago police, around 8:10 a.m. Friday, a 58-year-old woman was driving a Chevy sedan eastbound on 79th Street when she hit a commercial vehicle turning southbound on Vernon Avenue.
The woman lost control and slammed into the restaurant. While she’s expected to be OK, police say citations are pending.
Love mentioned that the restaurant was scheduled to open at 9 a.m., so an employee was inside at the time and, fortunately, was not hurt. Love said he was equally satisfied by the outpouring of support.
“Anytime anything like this happens, these misfortunes, these mishaps, the community always shows up like this,” Love said. “We don’t even need to ask. They just snatching brooms.”
Lamont Davis was one of the many who did not hesitate to grab a broom or shovel to help clean up.
“I’ve been coming here to buy food and I get love. I get love, and I want to give love back,” Davis said.
Despite the situation, however, the store owner remains confident that everything will turn out OK.
“We’ve been here for the community and the community is going to come and help us get back on our feet,” Love said.
Love hopes to reopen the restaurant to customers in about a week.