Jones, a beloved restaurant in West Hollywood reopened its doors after a car crashed through the establishment, closing it down for over three months.
The restaurant has been serving its guests Italian food since 1994 and that came to a sudden halt on Nov.14, minutes before opening. No one, including the driver, was hurt in the crash.
“There would have been people in the path of the crash so we’re fortunate that we weren’t open because it could have been a lot worse,” said General Manager Keith McCarthy.
McCarthy was working that night and was just about to address a suspected issue on the roof.
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“I heard two loud noises and when I heard the second noise the building shook,” said McCarthy. “And I knew, oh man, we just got hit by a car.”
The crash damaged much of the southwest corner of the restaurant and forced it to shut down for three and a half months. The nearly 50-person staff was suddenly out of work.
That’s when a neighboring restaurant, 'Employees Only' stepped in to help.
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“In the industry, we want to take care of each other,” said Employees Only owner and operator Tom Sopit.
Sopit and several liquor distributors teamed up to host a late November fundraiser helping out the Jones staff.
“We had a line down the block until 1 am,” Sopit said. The fundraiser was able to raise over $11,000.
“There was a lot of support for the community, people definitely wanted to help them out and we just gave them an avenue to do so,” said Sopit. “It was a fun night, the employees walked away with a good chunk of change and that was a blessing for everybody.”
With support from the community, every member of the nearly 50-person staff plans to return when the restaurant re-opens. In more good news, McCarthy said the phone’s been ringing all day, adding that they’re fully booked through Thursday night.
“A lot of people spend a lot of time here so I think we’re missed,” said McCarthy. “We’re lucky. A lot of restaurants aren’t as fortunate as we are.”
Jones is now open daily from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Formosa Avenue in West Hollywood.
