Crash into Old Greenwich restaurant jeopardizes its future
GREENWICH — A mainstay of the business district in Old Greenwich, serving Chinese-American cuisine for more than two decades, is facing an uncertain future.
Major damage was sustained at the Oriental Gourmet restaurant on Sound Beach Avenue when a motorist crashed into the building Oct. 1. The restaurant owned by Danny Chan had already been suffering from the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus when disaster struck, in the form of a red BMW that tore through the cinder block wall in the rear of the restaurant.
The restaurant is currently closed, and Chan said he was not sure the doors to the restaurant would open again.
“Fortunately, no one was injured,” said the longtime restaurateur from Greenwich.
“We cannot open until the place has been repaired,” he said this week. “At this point, it’s closed.” He said the process leading to a re-opening, involving the Health Department, the Building Department and his insurance carrier has been a laborious one, and there was no clear path forward.
The Greenwich Fire
Department, and volunteers from the Old Greenwich Fire Department, responded to the crash scene at 2:35 p.m. on the first day of October, along with emergency medical personnel and police.
Deputy Fire Chief Brian Koczak said the report came in as “car into wall.” Firefighters responded and shored up the wall to stabilize the structure and minimize further damage. “Heavy structural damage,” the fire department report stated, Koczak said, and the town’s building department was notified for a follow-up.