One of the unique selling points of the space that Chef Calvin Davis selected to open his first restaurant, Freshwater, was its visibility to bustling Southwest Trafficway.
Yet it was that same busy road, and his restaurants’ proximity to it, that created the perfect storm around 3 am Saturday, June 17, when a grey Honda clipped a town truck carrying a black GMC pickup truck that sent the car crashing head-first into south side of the building landing in the middle of the dining room of Freshwater.
The driver of the Honda, 25-year old Malcolm E. Hawkins, lost control of the vehicle, traveled across two lanes of traffic and into the restaurant, killing his 19-year old passenger, Diamond M. May, who was pronounced dead at the scene, and destroying the 3-month-old restaurant.
“The sad part is that all of this was preventable,” says Davis, “he chose to get behind the wheel and drive, and look at all of the lives, especially Diamond May and her family, he impacted with that one decision.”
According to the Kansas City Star, a statement that was issued on Saturday by the Jackson County Prosecutor’s office saying that the driver of the Honda, Hawkins, will face Class B felony charges for driving while intoxicated, causing a death with blood alcohol level of .18 or above, and operating a vehicle without a valid license.
As for Davis, he is not giving up. “Freshwater is not done, it will reopen. We started out by doing pop-up’s and that is what we will go back to doing as we move forward with either rebuilding this space, or possibly looking for a new space.”
He says he does wonder if he decides to stay in his current location if that would impact his business. Just how safe would his guests feel returning to the restaurant after such a horrific accident had occurred there.
“There simply are no barriers between the shops and the trafficway,” says Davis. He started speaking to the other shop owners only a few weeks ago in the hopes having barriers of some kind added. “Everyone who owns a shop here has watched as people have accidentally taken their cars up on the sidewalk, if only for a minute, while speeding down Southwest Trafficway.”
But the true silver lining for him in all of this, has been the outpouring of support he has received from his restaurant industry friends. Davis says he has been overwhelmed by the number of phone calls, texts and emails from those in the business who have reached out to offer help and support in one way or another. “We are a generous industry that supports each other, and something like this reminds you of that. What happened to me could have happened to anyone who owns a restaurant.”
Freshwater is closed for business, as Davis makes new plans. The kitchen is still intact, but he dining room has collapsed. However, it would take extensive clean up and remodeling to put his restaurant back together again. “A lot of this depends on my Landlord, but look I’ve done this once, and I can do it again. I was here every day for 8 months, night and day, trying to get my restaurant open, and my staff and I are ready to do it again.”
Davis says he has “great insurance” and that his plan will pay his dozen or so employees during the downtime from one-month to up to 90 days. He hopes to re-open in that amount of time if all goes according to plan.
Watch the Freshwater Facebook page for pop-up updates and more details as Davis’ plans progress.
Freshwater, 3711 Summit, Kansas City, Missouri, 816.492.6861, freshwaterkc.com
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