SOUTH TALLAHASSEE, FL \u2014 South Tallahassee restaurant The Lunchbox is reopening Thursday just days after a car crashed into the building. Owner David Raney says the community support has been vital for the staff.<\/p>\n
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South Tallahassee restaurant The Lunchbox reopens this week after a car crashed into the building<\/p>\n
In just three days, the Lunchbox has made a remarkable comeback. A car hit their building during business hours Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n
The driver told ABC 27 he was coming down Tennessee Street when his brakes suddenly stopped working. He said everything started happening fast as he tried to avoid hitting cars in front of him. As he continued down the road, he lost sight of what was in front of him, and that\u2019s when the vehicle slammed into the restaurant.<\/p>\n
Three people were involved in the crash, including the driver\u2019s wife and niece, who were taken to the hospital.<\/p>\n
“By the grace of God, nobody was hurt, minor injuries, which is a blessing and which could\u2019ve been a lot worse. And it\u2019s only, you know, monster damage, so we can replace that, so that\u2019s good,” David Raney said.<\/p>\n
Just hours after the wreck, employees, family, and friends helped clean up and rebuild what they could. I asked the owner how the restaurant is moving forward and what neighbors can expect.<\/p>\n
Raney said the community support made him want to reopen as fast as possible.<\/p>\n
“So it was top priority to get this place open, you know, not only for our customers and the tons of regulars we have in the community but also to support our employees. You know, they\u2019ve been out of work a couple days and too many days off, they’ve got bills and children to feed. We want to make sure they get paid and get back to work as soon as possible. And we didn\u2019t want to be down anymore than we had to be,” Raney said.<\/p>\n
Raney says The Lunchbox has also organized a fundraiser to help both the employees and the restaurant rebuild.<\/p>\n
“We did start a GoFundMe, you know, we\u2019re not really sure what it\u2019s going to take to put this building back together. We want to make sure our staff is taken care of being out of work. Any amount of time is tough for them. And anything we can do to support them in and help them out with their finances that would be awesome,” Raney said.<\/p>\n
The restaurant has been open for 27 years, and Raney expressed his gratitude for the neighborhood’s backing.<\/p>\n
“I just want to thank everybody, you know. This community is a small tight community, and they\u2019re going to come out and they\u2019re going to support us. And we appreciate the support of the last 27 years, and we want to keep that support going, so we thank you,” Raney said.<\/p>\n
Raney said they are looking forward to welcoming customers back to The Lunchbox on Thursday, March 19, for normal business hours.<\/p>\n
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.<\/p>\n
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