BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Another Baltimore restaurant will have to find a way to maintain business after losing its outdoor dining area.
A car drove into the parklet outside Blue Agave in Federal Hill Tuesday morning. Baltimore Police officers were called to the location around 4:32 a.m. for a reported hit-and-run.
Surveillance video from Diablo Doughnuts across Light Street shows a white car slam into the outdoor dining space, running over propane heaters and safety dividers.
A car drove into Blue Agave Restaurant’s parklet early this morning, destroying its outdoor dining area, running over their propane heaters & safety dividers – at a time when small biz/restaurants rely on these areas the most due to #Covid_19 .(Vid credit:@diablodoughnuts) @wjz pic.twitter.com/S3VAFCjRmF
— Annie Rose Ramos (@AnnieRoseNews) November 17, 2020
The restaurant was able to open for business Tuesday.
“When I saw this, it was just crazy. I mean we did not expect that was going to happen,” Sami Tabet, the owner of Byblos Lebanese Cuisine across the street from Blue Agave, said, adding drivers in the area need to slow down.
Blue Agave is open for business tonight after a driver crashed In to their outdoor parklet early this morning. Police say it was a hit and run crash. The restaurant says no one was injured @wjz pic.twitter.com/9MWzuxrk3Z
— Kelsey Kushner (@KelseyKushnerTV) November 17, 2020
It comes at a time when businesses are already struggling to stay open during the coronavirus pandemic as cold weather and an uptick in cases means they need outdoor dining space to survive.
“It’s really sad because restaurants are really trying to survive,” Elaine Kittredge said.
Another Federal Hill restaurant’s parklet was damaged in a crash last month
SoBo Cafe posted on Oct. 18 that their parklet was destroyed overnight.
“(The car) basically took out two-thirds of our parklet,” owner Anna Leventis said. “The car kind of was out of control.”
The crash is under investigation.
