The owners of a popular downtown Evanston Chinese restaurant returned from Salt Lake City on Monday morning to find a pickup had smashed through their building, leaving a gaping hole in the storefront and a mystery about what had happened while they were gone.
Nobody was inside Wonderful Inn when the pickup crashed through the restaurant at 933 Front St., and only the driver was taken to the hospital, Evanston Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim Overy told Cowboy State Daily.
Overy confirmed the crash resulted from a medical situation.
The restaurant was closed and unoccupied, narrowly avoiding what could have been a much more serious incident.
A witness called police at about 6:40 a.m. after seeing the crash happen, Evanston Police Lt. Ken Pearson said.
He added that first responders immediately began helping the man behind the wheel.
“They were great,” Pearson said.
The driver was conscious when responders got him into the ambulance, and police were able to talk with him, Pearson said. He was then taken to the hospital.
Police do not expect to issue any citations.
By later Monday morning, Front Street was reopened and no longer affected by the crash, Overy said.
'There Was A Big Impact'
The Wonderful Inn's owners live in the Salt Lake City area and typically return there Saturday nights before traveling back to Evanston on Monday mornings, the owners' nephew, Branson Huang, told Cowboy State Daily.
When they arrived Monday, Huang said, there were no police officers or emergency responders outside to explain what happened.
He said staff went to the Evanston Police Department, where they were given a case number and insurance information.
Huang then began the process of filing a claim.
“Right now, we don't know what should we do because there's a big hole of the restaurant,” Huang said.
Equipment and other property is inside, he said, and the family wasn't sure whether it should begin moving things or leave everything untouched until an insurance adjuster could document the damage.
“We haven't experienced anything like this before,” Huang said.
The family, he said, was shocked and still trying to understand what had happened.
Glass, Brick And A Pickup
The photographs make clear why.
The white pickup appears to have crossed the sidewalk before crashing through a large plate-glass section of Wonderful Inn's storefront and the short brick wall beneath it.
The impact shattered the window, tore portions of its metal framing away from the building and scattered glass across the sidewalk.
Broken bricks can be seen underneath and around the pickup. Long sections of mangled window framing lie amid the debris, while curtains that had covered the restaurant's front windows hang around the truck.
The pickup's front end came to rest well inside the building. Its hood is buckled and front end visibly damaged.
Above the wreckage, the restaurant's turquoise facade still bears three large Chinese characters that translate to “Hunan Garden,” the restaurant's former name.
For all the damage to the restaurant, Huang said the family was relieved to learn from police the driver was OK.
“The other good news is the car hit another part of the restaurant,” he said. “That part we are not going to use to serve the people.”
He added that the part that was smashed is used mostly for storage.
“We are still opening,” Huang said, and normal hours should continue without interruption.
Current Ownership
Evanston business-license records identify Jibang Wen as the current owner of Wonderful Inn, city business-license technician Micki Cox confirmed Monday.
Wyoming Secretary of State records also show an active Wyoming company, LY Management LLC, with its principal and mailing address at 933 Front St.
The company's most recent annual report continues to list the Wonderful Inn address as its principal office and identifies Heidi Sy as its registered agent.
Wonderful Inn's ownership family initially was difficult to reach Monday because the restaurant's publicly listed number went unanswered .
Huang ultimately returned Cowboy State Daily's call on behalf of his uncle, who does not speak English.
He said the family wasn't ready to say much more about the damage while it worked through the insurance process and tried to figure out what comes next.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
