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10/28/2008 Customer crashes car into Jamaican restaurant By: SLOAN BREWSTER , Press staff
MIDDLETOWN - The joke of the day Tuesday at Jerk Fish Jamaican Restaurant at 276 E. Main St., was how a customer liked the food so much he tried to make a drive-through.
Tuesday, at about 2:30 p.m., an elderly customer pulled into a parking spot in front of the eatery, stepped on the gas instead of the brake, drove into the window in front of the establishment - breaking it - parked, and proceeded to come in and sit at a table, said manager Philip Duncan.
"He said, 'You call the police?'" said Duncan. "I said 'Yes,' he sat down I made him some tea."
Duncan, whose mother, Mable Duncan, is owner and head chef, seemed to take the accident pretty well.
He sat comfortably in a booth making phone calls and chatting with customers coming into the restaurant, which opened four months ago.
"My mother's an excellent cook," he boasted between calls. "Not just a good one, an excellent one."
Meanwhile, his banker, Nick Severino, took phone calls and orders at the register. Severino joked with a caller about the broken window, stating what Duncan had said a few times as well - the customer who had the crash was trying to make a drive-through window.
Duncan said police had come and gone, and inspectors had given him the go ahead to keep open while workers replaced the glass.
Police would not release the name of the man who broke the window, but confirmed it had occurred.
Though workers remained outside working on the window and the front door to the restaurant was open to a cool breeze, a couple customers still stopped by.
James Clinton is a regular customer who takes a trek from Meriden to pick up orders.
"It's the best tasting food in the world," Clinton said. "I come all the way from Meriden. ... Right now, I'm going after the curry chicken with rice and peas."
Duncan said his mother made a joke when he called her and told her about the accident.
"She said the curse has lifted," he said, explaining the "curse" as not having as many customers frequenting the eatery as they would like.
"Now is the time for us to evolve," he said. "Everybody will come in through the doors."
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Tuesday, at about 2:30 p.m., an elderly customer pulled into a parking spot in front of the eatery, stepped on the gas instead of the brake, drove into the window in front of the establishment - breaking it - parked, and proceeded to come in and sit at a table, said manager Philip Duncan.
"He said, 'You call the police?'" said Duncan. "I said 'Yes,' he sat down I made him some tea."
Duncan, whose mother, Mable Duncan, is owner and head chef, seemed to take the accident pretty well.
He sat comfortably in a booth making phone calls and chatting with customers coming into the restaurant, which opened four months ago.
"My mother's an excellent cook," he boasted between calls. "Not just a good one, an excellent one."
Meanwhile, his banker, Nick Severino, took phone calls and orders at the register. Severino joked with a caller about the broken window, stating what Duncan had said a few times as well - the customer who had the crash was trying to make a drive-through window.
Duncan said police had come and gone, and inspectors had given him the go ahead to keep open while workers replaced the glass.
Police would not release the name of the man who broke the window, but confirmed it had occurred.
Though workers remained outside working on the window and the front door to the restaurant was open to a cool breeze, a couple customers still stopped by.
James Clinton is a regular customer who takes a trek from Meriden to pick up orders.
"It's the best tasting food in the world," Clinton said. "I come all the way from Meriden. ... Right now, I'm going after the curry chicken with rice and peas."
Duncan said his mother made a joke when he called her and told her about the accident.
"She said the curse has lifted," he said, explaining the "curse" as not having as many customers frequenting the eatery as they would like.
"Now is the time for us to evolve," he said. "Everybody will come in through the doors."
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