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BELLVILLE – When a Cadillac crashed through the south wall of the V&M Family Restaurant, the diner’s social media manager managed to find the humor in the situation.
“For anyone wondering, no, we are not putting in a drive thru,” read a March 7 update on the restaurant’s Facebook page.
The Bellville diner has been closed since the March 7 collision, but owner Shawn Riffe said the restaurant will reopen soon. No one was seriously injured in the accident, despite the vehicle pushing through the brick wall and into the dish room.
“Best we can figure out, a guy pulled into the parking lot, got confused and stepped on the gas instead of the break,” Riffe said. “They relaid block this week so the hole is closed up and the wall is back in place.”
Riffe said the restaurant closed immediately upon impact. In the moment, he didn’t know what had happened and thought it was an issue with the gas or water line.
“We had water spraying everywhere,” he said. “We pretty much rushed everybody out of the building as fast as possible because you don’t really know what happened.
“It could have been really bad. It was definitely the grace of God that it wasn’t worse.”
The dishwasher and stainless steel tables surrounding will need replaced. The repair will also require significant plumbing and electrical work.
“Everything there was attached to everything else so it just kind of twisted everything up,” Riffe said. “The grill is about 10 or 12 feet down the building so it was completely out of the way. The oven took a little bit of a hit but nothing serious, just kind of pushed it off to the side.”
It’s not the first time a car has crashed through the restaurant walls, but Riffe is hoping it will be the last.
“Twenty years ago, give or take, it happened to us, a little further down where the grill area is,” he said. “We’re talking to people right now about what we can put up. Whether it’s a guard rail or posts — we’re talking to a couple different people about the best option.”
Riffe said there have been rumors the V&M is closing permanently, but it’s simply not the case. The tentative date for the repairs to be finished is April 7. If all goes according to plan, the restaurant will reopen the following week.
“Our plan is to come back as soon as possible,” he said. “We are fixing it. We will be back open. We look forward to being back.”
In the meantime, the restaurant’s Mansfield location is still open with normal operating hours.
