Detour Grill and Bar in Imperial is scheduled to reopen Wednesday (April 11), two days after a truck struck the restaurant, damaging a corner of the building and breaking out window panels, said owners Bill Livingston and Terry Armstrong.
The restaurant, 2855 Seckman Road, closed after the accident, which happened about 11 a.m. Monday (April 9), but it was set to reopen Wednesday morning, after Leader deadline.
Initially, the Antonia Fire Protection District and Jefferson County deemed the restaurant unsafe and said it would have to remain closed until repairs could be made and inspections completed, said Glenn Nivens, Antonia Fire’s assistant chief.
After further inspection on today (April 10), Nivens said, there was no structural damage, and the district gave the restaurant the OK to reopen.
Livingston said he hoped to have the restaurant open again by 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.
“An engineer came out this morning and said the building was structurally fine,” he said.
When the insurance company makes its assessment, the building will be repaired, Livingston said.
Bricks and glass from the damaged area have been removed, and temporary repairs have been made so the restaurant can reopen.
Nivens said no one was hurt in the accident.
“I’m not exactly sure what happened, but apparently a gentleman hit the gas instead of the brake, jumped the curb and hit the building,” Nivens said.
He said the man, who was driving a black Chevy Silverado, was a regular customer at the restaurant.
Nivens said the damage to the building “looked a lot worse than it actually was” and after the bricks were removed, he could see that the support beam was not damaged.
He said he spoke with the restaurant owners and told them as long as the county was OK with the business reopening on Wednesday, he was good with it.
The county could not be reached today.
Armstrong said both the fire district and the county signed off on the Wednesday reopening.
“He (the county inspector) is waiting for the letter from the engineer, but they all approved,” Armstrong said.