‘You don’t think these things are going to happen:’ Restaurant owner picking up pieces after car crashes through restaurant on North Clinton Ave

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) – A business on North Clinton Avenue was heavily damaged when a car crashed into it Thursday night.

Rochester police said they responded to the 900 block of North Clinton Avenue around 11 p.m. for a burglar alarm at El Pilon Criollo.

The alarm was activated when a red SUV struck the building. Police determined the SUV was heading north when it left the road and hit the building destroying the dining room.

The owner tells News 8 she hopes to get a special permit from the city to be able to sell food out of the back of her building.

“I have heard the news about all the places getting hit like this, this is something completely different because he was an accident,” Owner Zury Brown told News 8.

Brown adds she’s glad no one was hurt.

“It just brings some disruption to our daily life and in business. The good thing is, nobody got hurt. Once we can get ourselves back together, we’ll be fine,” Brown said.

Brown said it’s emotional to have to temporarily close. But the support from the community is encouraging and appreciated.

“The people that have reached out to us wanting to help. And that’s very- I appreciate it,” Brown said. “Our customers, the people from the city, the people from the community, our leaders […] So that’s a great feeling. You know, it’s a very good feeling.

Brown says once the insurance company evaluates, she’s hoping to get a special permit to be able to sell food out of the back of the building offering to-go orders.

“We hope to open, and we’ll be back in business as soon as possible. We’ll let our customers know by social media and that we are up and running again,” Brown said.

The driver was not injured and was not ticketed.

The Rochester Fire Department was assessing the condition of the building, but we have not heard from them directly.

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