LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A local restaurant has been figuring out what to do after a car crashed into the building early on Wednesday morning.
It's not what employees expected to wake up to and it has been just another setback for them to overcome.
"This is how I make my business. This is how I support all my employees that I have. It's just it's, it's my life," Owner, Andrew Mueller said.
Mueller became the owner of Three Sams BBQ in October, and since then, he's had to overcome a lot of hurdles at the restaurant.
On Wednesday, he faced another one that forced him to close the restaurant temporarily.
"I pulled up at six o'clock this morning. And I was just in shock. The first thing I'd seen was a telephone pole down over here. Two feet further, my personal smoker. And our big smoker here was just completely trashed," Mueller described.
The restaurant's manager Martine Dionne said it feels like they just can't catch a break.
"We burned in 2016. We rebuilt in 2017 and reopened. And then when he took over new ownership, we had a lot of stuff that we had to replace," Dionne explained.
Now, they need to fix the damaged smoke room.
"We are looking at my personal smoker here, like I said she is crushed like a soda can," he said.
Their custom-built smoker, which weighs a couple of tons, is on the opposite side of the room after the car crashed into the building.
"To get hit by an SUV and move there. You're moving real fast," he said.
According to the crash report, the driver swerved off of Mann Road to avoid hitting something in the street and went into the ditch. After that, the driver told police she couldn't stop and hit this light pole, flipped the car, and crashed into the smoke room.
The driver and two passengers reportedly walked away with minor injuries.
"I just couldn't imagine what the SUV looked like after smashing into that," Mueller said.
It is obvious that they have a lot of work ahead— and they can't open until they know if their smoker works.
"It is the crucial key piece of this place being a barbecue spot," Dionne said.
In the meantime, they've been working with insurance but estimate at least a $5,000 loss.
"We've really stayed strong and been positive about it. So I'm really, I'm really hoping this is just a tiny setback for us," she said.
They hope to reopen on Monday but will keep customers updated on their Facebook page.
The crash report also said that alcohol and drugs are not a suspected cause of the crash.