JACKSON, MI – The gapping hole in the Grand River Brewery isn’t slowing the restaurant down.
Two hours after a car careened off Louis Glick Highway and into the building Thursday night, a construction team was already at work, Owner Justin Dalenberg said.
The driver of a silver Mercury was going west on Louis Glick Highway when the vehicle crossed the east lane, hit a curb and went through the brewery wall, 117 W. Louis Glick Highway, at 9:59 p.m., Feb. 11, police said.
Grand River Brewery severely damaged after car crashes through wall
A manager was mopping the floor about 20 minutes before the driver crashed through the outer wall of the barrel room, Dalenberg said. Employees typically gather in that room after a shift to drink a beer and catch up, he said.
Thankfully no one was in the room at the time of the crash, Dalenberg said.
“We’re really lucky nobody got killed,” Dalenberg said. “It was really pretty lucky. We’re counting our blessings. Nobody got hurt.”
The damage doesn’t affect the structural integrity of the building – as a former bus garage it can withstand a lot, Dalenberg said.
Multiple barrels of aging whiskey were the real victim, he said.
“We had some pretty fantastic whiskey in barrels that were damaged,” Dalenberg said. “That was the only true causality in the whole thing — other than the building being severely damaged. It’s two years of aging out the window. It’s a bummer.”
About 30 mugs from the Mug Club were also destroyed. The club surpassed 1,600 members during the restaurant shut down, so t a new rack was built in the barrel room, Dalenberg said.
The mugs will be replaced.
“We’re all silver lining people, we’re optimistic,” Dalenberg said. “It happened. We’ll get it fixed. We’ll get it cleaned up.”
Repairs to the wall should be done in a week, Dalenberg said. With a busy Valentine’s Day weekend on tap, the restaurant is trying to get the room repaired enough for people safely dine inside it.
“We acted quick,” Dalenberg said. “We’ve been shut down for so long, we can’t afford to lose any more revenue. We’re booked all weekend.”
The damage is between $100,000 and $200,000 and a very good insurance plan will help with those repairs, Dalenberg said. A pair of roll-up garage doors will be installed where the wall used to be, he said. That way summertime events can have fresh air.
Local Eats: Jackson’s Grand River Brewery prides itself on craft food and drinks
Dalenberg said he’s already looking forward to what comes next for the brewery.
“We can’t wait for St. Patrick’s Day,” he said. “That’s our biggest day of the year and we missed it last year. This year we’re going to blow the doors off.”
The driver left skid marks on the road outside the brewery and restaurant, indicating speed was a factor in the crash, police said. The driver left the car and got into a white Chrysler 200 before driving away, but police talked to the owner of the abandoned car and said a 27-year-old male is a person of interest in the crash.
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