Aldine Koster rushed home from her camper in Digby after she got a call that a vehicle had crashed into the side of her Arby’s restaurant in Bridgewater.
She says it happened around 3 a.m., and she got to the building at about 6 a.m. Sunday morning.
Based on the damage, it wasn’t like the driver mistook the gas for the brake, she said.
“It was enough speed that it pushed everything from that wall into the centre of the store and across the store lobby,” said Koster, who owns the restaurant.
“I was very, very shocked. I’m running on adrenaline now. It’s just, it’s shocking. It’s really not what I expected to deal with on a Sunday.”
Damage at Arby’s in Bridgewater after a vehicle hit the building. (Aldine Koster)
She said police told her there were two people in the car, and they were taken to a hospital after the crash. Our newsroom has reached out for further details.
The condiment station and the pop tower were pushed after the crash, throwing stir straws, salt, pepper, mustard, ketchup, and relish packets across the room.
She is waiting for an engineer to give her a report on the structural damage done to the wall where the vehicle hit it, and she can’t open until she knows how to fix it or whether it is safe.
Damage at Arby’s in Bridgewater after a vehicle hit the building. (Aldine Koster)
On Sunday, she said she would have lost between $5,000 and $7,000 by being closed, and if she is not open by Tuesday or Wednesday, she could lose a lot more, because some of the food would start to go bad. Exhibition week also starts Monday, which would have brought in a lot of cash, said Koster.
She’s worried that some of her employees have lost their hours, too.
For now, Koster is trying to deal with the emotional aspect of the damage to the restaurant, too.
“Our family has been running it since ’95 and it’s kind of a little devastating.”
Damage at Arby’s in Bridgewater after a vehicle hit the building. (Aldine Koster)
